Still Going Strong
by YouHadMeAtHelloxo
Summary: SEQUEL TO READY FOR TOMORROW! Lucy and Kevin find out that life with toddler triplets is quite a challenge. Families continue to grow, and new problems arise. Will they be too big for the Camdens, Kinkirks, Petrowskis, and Ponces? COMPLETE!
1. Happy Birthday!

Disclaimer: I do not own 7th Heaven or anything pertaining to it, I also have nothing do to with the WB network (other than the fact that I love watching it!)  
  
A/N: Hello, it's CamdenGirl4Ever once again! I said that there wouldn't be a "Ready For Tomorrow" Sequel, but I got such an overwhelming response about the story, and many of you asked for a sequel, so I won't let you down!  
  
This story will be taking up where the epilogue left off. I'll refresh your memory, just in case:  
  
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Sarah and Matt: Emily is now 11, Sean is 6, and Chloe is 2. Matt is still an OB/GYN, and Sarah still stays at home with the kids. Sarah is 8 months pregnant with their fourth child. If the baby is a girl, they plan on naming her Alexis, and if it's a boy, his name will be Daniel. They are waiting to find out until the baby is born. At School, Emily is a 6th grader, and Sean is a 1st grader.  
  
Mary and Carlos: Mary and Carlos recently moved back to Glen Oak to live near to the rest of their family. Carlos is still a fire fighter, and Mary was recently employed Jennings Elementary with Peter and Ruthie. They still have no children.  
  
Lucy and Kevin: Kevin is still a police officer, and Lucy stays at home with the kids. Will, Luke, and Maddy are two, and will be three next week. They are growing up well together, and are all talking and walking. Lucy and Kevin are very proud of their kids. They are not planning on having any more.  
  
Simon and Cecilia: Simon is still a lawyer, and Cecilia a stay at home mother. Rachel is 7, Ethan is 4, and their newest addition, son, Charlie, just turned one. Rachel is a 2nd grader, and Ethan is a preschooler.  
  
Peter and Ruthie: Peter and Ruthie still work up at Jennings Elementary, which they love. They just had their first child, Natalie, who is 11 months old. (NOTE: IN THE EPILOGUE, IT ORIGINALLY SAID THAT SHE WAS PREGNANT, I CHANGED THAT!)  
  
Sam and David turned 19 a few months ago. They are freshmen at California State University, or CSU. Sam is majoring in business, and David is majoring in psychology.  
  
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"Happy Birthday To You! (cha cha cha) Happy Birthday To You! (cha cha cha) Happy Birthday Dear Will Luke and Maddy! (cha cha cha) Happy Birthday To You!" The crowd laughed. Sarah, Matt, Lucy, Kevin, Simon, Cecilia, Peter, and Ruthie sat around the table cutting cake and putting it on plates, while the kids: Emily, Sean, Chloe, Will, Luke, Maddy, Natalie, Rachel, and Ethan ran wildly around Lucy and Kevin's back yard while Charlie sat and watched from one of the swings hanging from the posts facing the yard. Those three swings had gotten a lot of use over the last 3 years by Will, Luke, and Maddy. He laughed happily as he watched the older kids playing. Sarah saw little Chloe running with the kids, and her eyes got wide.  
  
"Chloe! Come here, sweetie!" She called.  
  
"Why?" Matt asked his wife.  
  
"She's only two! She'll get knocked over and trampled!" She said protectively.  
  
"OK." Matt said. "Why don't you put her in one of the other swings, by Charlie."  
  
"OK." Sarah ran out in to the yard and grabbed her little brunette beauty. She giggled when her mother lifted her into the air, and propped her on her large belly.  
  
"Hello." She said happily.  
  
"Hi!" Sarah said. "Why don't you come over here and swing by your cousin."  
  
"OK." Chloe agreed. Sarah put the two-year-old in the swing next to Charlie and buckled her in carefully. She pushed the swing up to the height she was comfortable with her youngest child (for now) swinging at, and she walked back to the adult crowd as they finished cutting.  
  
It was sad to see such a cute cake, all cut up. It was 1/3 blue 1/3 yellow and 1/3 pink (Will, Like, and Maddy's favorite colors, in that order). On top, in large scrolling letters it used to read "You 3 are 3! Happy Birthday William, Luke, and Madison." Sarah had to be proud of Lucy. She still didn't understand how she could make such a wonderful cake while watching 3 toddlers! Kevin cupped his hands around his mouth.  
  
"OK, kids, cake time!" He shouted. Those words set a frenzy going on the children's behalf. All the kids ran over and formed a group around the table.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey!" Kevin said. "I want a line, starting right here." He showed where it should start. The kids ran and formed an almost single file line. "Luke, Maddy and Will first!" The triplets ran to the front of the line proudly. "Girls first." He said, giving Maddy her cake and a plastic fork. "Now you two." He handed plates to Will and Luke at the same time. They took their cake over and sat down at the first plastic kid picnic table. Lucy and Kevin had 4 set up to fit all the kids. Cake was handed to each child in line, and soon, the picnic tables were full, and the plates of cake were gone. The adults each took one piece for themselves.  
  
"Hey, if it's one each, I should get two! One for me, and one for the baby!" Sarah jokingly objected. Everyone laughed.  
  
"Are you saying, I could have gotten 4 pieces when I was pregnant with them?" Lucy asked, motioning to her triplets. "No fair!"  
  
"Here." Matt said. "I don't want mine anyway." He handed his cake to his wife.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Positive." He said.  
  
"Thanks." She said.  
  
"Mommy, my cake now please!" Chloe called. Sarah laughed.  
  
"Almost forgot!" She said, getting her daughter out of the swing and sitting down, putting her on her lap. She grabbed a fork and a piece of cake for her.  
  
"I wanna eat with Emily and Sean!" She cried. Sarah smiled.  
  
"Ok, go ahead."  
  
"Yay!" She cried. She got up and ran over to her siblings. They scooted over to let her in. Sarah carried Chloe's cake over and sat it in front of her, along with her fork.  
  
"Help your sister please." Sarah said to Emily.  
  
"Ok." Emily said. She got some cake on Chloe's fork and held it out for her.  
  
"Myself!" Chloe said, taking the fork and carefully putting the bite of cake into her mouth. She smiled proudly. "Mm! Yummy!" Sarah laughed and walked back to her seat.  
  
"How cute!" Cecilia said.  
  
"Yeah. Chloe idolizes Emily and Sean." Sarah said. Matt nodded in agreement.  
  
"She's their little shadow." He commented. Everyone laughed.  
  
"That's adorable." Said Lucy. Sarah smiled.  
  
"We think so." After the kids finished eating, they went to play again. A few minutes later, Rachel ran over to Cecilia.  
  
"Mom?" She asked. Cecilia nodded. Rachel leaned over and whispered in her mother's ear. Cecilia smiled.  
  
"It's OK with me, but you have to ask Aunt Sarah." She said. Rachel ran over to Sarah.  
  
"Aunt, Sarah? Can Emily come over to my house after this? Please, please, please, please, please?"  
  
"Sure, I don't see why not. Did you ask Emily yet?"  
  
"Yes." Rachel said, matter-of-factly.  
  
"Ok, then, that sounds good."  
  
"Emily, Yes!" She cried, running back to her cousin. Sarah and Cecilia laughed and looked at one another.  
  
"We'll just take Emily home in our car, Ok?" She asked. Sarah nodded.  
  
"Are you sure you can handle a fourth child in there? I can drive her over if you want."  
  
"No, that's OK!" Cecilia smiled "Don't worry."  
  
"OK, thanks." Sarah said. "What time should we pick her up?" Cecilia looked at her watch.  
  
"Well, It's 2:30 now, and the party should be over at 3:00, according to the invitation. Is 6:00 OK? She could eat with us. I'm just going to grab McDonald's tonight.  
  
"6:00 sounds great." She said. She pulled out her wallet and handed Cecilia a ten. "Here's for the dinner."  
  
"Ok, I'll hold her change, and give it to you or Matt when you come to get her."  
  
"Ok, sounds great." Sarah said with a smile. The last half hour passed in the blink of an eye. The triplets received lots of great presents and were already beginnging to open some up when the party ended. Simon and Cecilia left first with Rachel, Ethan, Charlie, and Emily, who ran to hug her mother and father good bye before leaving. Sarah and Matt left soon after with just Sean and Chloe. As they climbed into the car after saying good bye to the Kinkirks, Lucy buckled Chloe into her car seat as she gave Lucy the third degree.  
  
"Mom?" She asked.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Where is Emily?"  
  
"She went home with Rachel." She explained.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because Rachel invited her over."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because she wanted to play with some one."  
  
"Why didn't she just play with Ethan and Charlie?"  
  
"Shh!" Sarah laughed and put her finger over her lips.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Too many questions!" Sarah said. She patted her daughter on the head and walked around to the passenger seat and got in.  
  
A/N: I hope you like this so far. I have to admit that I love little Chloe! Haha. I teach a class at my church for 2 and 3 year olds, so I know I'll have a lot of fun with Chloe, and the other toddlers. Review Please! 


	2. The Butterfly, The Bumblebee, and the La...

A/N: Hello! I really hope that you like this story so far! Enjoy chapter two! Please review. You know how much I love my reviews!  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter Two  
  
"I'm three, mommy!" Maddy said to Lucy with a happy smile on Saturday, the day after her party.  
  
"Yes you are!" Lucy said with a smile.  
  
"Three! That's this..." She paused, looking at her fingers and moving them carefully. "this many!" She held up four fingers. Lucy laughed.  
  
"No, you're this many." She folded down her daughter's fourth finger. "What are your brothers up to?" Maddy gasped as she suddenly remembered why she had come out to her mother in the first place.  
  
"Come here!" She took her mother by the hand and pulled her to the first door on the right in the hall, also known as the room she shared with Will and Luke.  
  
"What are you three doing?" She asked when she saw her two sons sitting in the middle of the room between the three beds. They had chairs from their kiddie table set up and four blankets draped over them messily. Maddy ran over and sat with them behind the contraption.  
  
"It's puppet show time, mommy!" Explained Will.  
  
"Oh! I love puppet shows. Are you using all those puppets that Aunt Cecilia, Uncle Simon, Rachel, Ethan, and Charlie gave you for your birthdays?"  
  
"Yes!" Luke said enthusiastically. It seemed that he loved those puppets more than life itself. Lucy smiled, but was shushed immediately by Maddy.  
  
"Shh!" She said. "The show is starting!"  
  
"Oh, OK." Lucy said with a smile. A butterfly puppet came up above the blankets, closely followed by a bumblebee.  
  
"Hello Mr. Bee!" Said the butterfly, AKA Maddy.  
  
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!" The "bee" AKA Luke, flew wildly around the "stage", knocking the butterfly out of the way.  
  
"Luke, stop!" Yelled Madison's voice. "Mommy!"  
  
"Luke, please don't." Lucy said calmly.  
  
"OK." He said with a voice full of disappointment.  
  
"Keep going! It's almost my turn!" Called Will. The butterfly and bumblebee went back to their flying. Soon Will's puppet, a Ladybug appeared.  
  
"Hi! I'm lady!" He said. Maddy and Luke were set into a fit of giggles.  
  
"Will's a lady!" Luke called through his giggles.  
  
"Am not!" Will cried. Lucy couldn't help laughing at the scene she was watching.  
  
"Any way!" Maddy called over her brothers, done with her giggling.  
  
"Hi Lady!" Her butterfly said. Luke snorted.  
  
"Ow!" Luke cried, obviously elbowed by Will.  
  
"Hi, what is your name?" Asked the ladybug, moving on.  
  
"I'm..." Maddy paused, trying to think of a name. "Butter!" She said.  
  
"Hi Butter!" Said "Lady".  
  
"I'm Bee!" Said Luke's bumblebee character.  
  
"Hi Bee!" Said "Butter" and "Lady" together. Maddy stood up.  
  
"The end!" She said.  
  
"Bravo!" Lucy cried, clapping loudly for her 3-year-olds. Maddy blushed and she took a bow. After seeing this, both Will and Luke stood up to take a bow as well. "Very good!" Lucy said.  
  
"Thank you." Luke said.  
  
"Thank you." Said Will.  
  
"Thank you." Added Maddy.  
  
"Your welcome. After all that flying, you three must be tired! How about some lunch? Do...sandwiches sound good?"  
  
"Yes!" They answered in unison.  
  
"OK, go to the bathroom and wash your hands first." She said.  
  
"OK!" They said. They ran into the bathroom. In front of each of the sinks, there were step stools, painted by Annie. One stool was pink and one was blue. Of course, neither of the boys would be caught on a pink stool, so they ran to the blue one. Luke got there first, so he washed his hands while Will waited behind him. Maddy ran to the pink stool and washed her hands carefully, with her soap. Lucy had let them each pick out their own liquid soap. Maddy chose one with ducks on the outside, Will chose one with race cars, and Luke chose one with dogs. When they were finished, they ran into the kitchen and sat down at the table in their booster seats. Lucy came over.  
  
"What kind of sandwiches do you want?" She asked. They all shouted out at the same time, letting Lucy hear only a blur of shouts.  
  
"One at a time! Maddy?"  
  
"Peanut butter and jelly!" She said.  
  
"Cheese." Said Will.  
  
"Turkey." Said Luke. Lucy laughed softly about how different they were.  
  
"Please?" She asked, reminding them of their manners.  
  
"Please!" They chorused.  
  
"Oh, Ok." Lucy said. She went into the kitchen, which was feet from the table. She tossed their sandwhiches together and put some apple juice in their sippy cups. She went back to the table and gave each their sandwich and sippy cup.  
  
"Manners..." She prompted them.  
  
"Thank you!" They all said. Happily, they dug into their will- deserved lunch.  
  
A/N: I hope you liked! I got the puppet show idea from the kids in my class. They LOVE putting on show. : - ) Review please! 


	3. Diva Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to 7th Heaven or the WB network. I also own nothing to do with the Nintendo Game Cube ©  
  
A/N: Enjoy and Review, Please!  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 3: Chloe: Diva Girl  
  
"Emily?" Sarah called.  
  
"Yeah?" Asked the 11-year-old from the family room where she was watching TV.  
  
"I'm going to take a nap. Would you please keep an eye on Chloe?"  
  
"Sure." Emily said, seemingly mesmerized by the screen.  
  
"Thanks." Sarah said, plopping the baby down next to her sister. She laughed as she laid down in bed 5 minutes later. "Pre-teens." She mumbled to herself. Within 5 minutes, she was fast asleep...  
  
Back in the family room, Sean was sitting on the ground to the right of the TV, which his sister was so entranced by, playing with his legos. Chloe let her self off of the sofa and walked over to her brother. After being ignored by him as well, she looked around, and toddled off down the hall, unnoticed.  
  
When the TV show ended, 23 minutes later, Emily stretched and shut off the television. She turned to her right.  
  
"Chlo..." She stopped, seeing that her little sister wasn't next to her.  
  
"Sean? Is the baby with you?" She asked.  
  
"No, the baby's still in mom's stomach." He said with a 'duh' tone to his 6- year-old voice.  
  
"I mean Chloe!" She said, exasperated.  
  
"Oh, nope." He said. "I'm bored. Will you turn on the Game Cube for me?"  
  
"Yeah." Emily walked over and switched it on. She unrolled two controllers, handing one to her brother. Their favorite Mario racing game came onto the screen.  
  
"Shouldn't you go find..."  
  
"Shh, here's the character video!" She said.  
  
"Chloe..." He trailed off, watching the colorful video of all the players driving in their cars. He scooted up next to his sister, and in seconds, they were both gone in the Mario world.  
  
Sarah stretched and rolled over. She looked at the clock. Across the face, in blocky green letters it read: 5:45. She had already slept for two hours! She stumbled out of bed and into her bathroom. She cracked up and gasped in horror at the same time at the sight she saw.  
  
Little Chloe was sitting in the middle of the room, with Sarah's make up basket sitting at her side. Her make up was spread everywhere around her daughter, all open. Chloe was a mess. She had multi-colored makeup spread all over her face, arms, stomach, hair, and legs. Sticking out of her mouth was the front of her long eye liner stick.  
  
"Chloe!" She cried. She ran forward and tossed all her make up into the basket.  
  
"Hi mommy!" Chloe said cheerfully. "Look! Pretty colors!"  
  
"Yes...very pretty colors. You didn't ask mommy if you could play with this.  
  
"I know." She said.  
  
"You need to ask first!"  
  
"OK." Sarah leaned over and picked her daughter up.  
  
"Let's get you cleaned up." She took the baby to the bathtub and put her in. 15 minutes later, she was squeaky clean and in a cozy nightie. Sarah carried the almost three-year-old back out into the family room, where her older brother and sister will still playing Nintendo.  
  
"Emily Marie?" Sarah said. "Pause please." Emily did so and turned around.  
  
"Oh Mom you're up...with...Chloe!" She stammered.  
  
"I just found your baby sister, who you were supposed to be watching, in my bathroom covered in my make up." She said. Emily stifled a laugh. She got up and took the baby.  
  
"Hey, diva girl, you're too young for make up!" She told her sister. Sarah looked at her daughter, and couldn't help but smile.  
  
"I have to be able to trust you with her. Soon, I'm going to be busy with another baby, and I need to be able to rely on you. This can't happen again."  
  
"OK." Emily said.  
  
"Ready for dinner?" Sarah asked.  
  
"Sure. Sean?" She called. The boy turned around looked at his mother.  
  
"Dinner time." She told her son.  
  
"OK." He said. "Hold on, let us finish this race. Common Emily!" Emily went over, still holding Chloe. She sat the little girl down next to her who watched in awe while her older siblings battled it out on the TV screen. By the time they finished, dinner, Raviolis, was half was finished. Emily set the table, at her mother's request, and put Chloe in her high chair. Sean took the liberty of putting her bib on her. After 10 minutes, dinner was ready and Sarah put the food on her childrens' plates. She heated a left over piece of pizza for herself and sat down. When they were about halfway done, Matt walked in the door.  
  
"Hey guys!" He said happily.  
  
"It's Daddy! It's Daddy!" Called Chloe excitedly.  
  
"We know!" Said Sean. Matt kissed each of his kids on top of the head, and his wife on the cheek.  
  
"Ohh pizza." He said, eyeing Sarah's plate "Is there any more in the fridge?"  
  
"Yep, there are three more pieces. Microwave them for 45 seconds each.  
  
"OK thanks. Can I get you another?" He asked.  
  
"That sounds great. I think the baby is still hungry." She said with a sly smile. Matt laughed.  
  
"Coming right up!" He cooked two pieces for himself, and one more for his wife." He gave her the piece, and sat down in the chair next to her with his own. They finished dinner, and Emily and Sean went to get ready for bed while Sarah and Matt chatted. After they were ready, Sarah went to tuck them in while Matt played with Chloe. She tucked them in and walked down the hall.  
  
"Good night!" Shouted Sean from his room.  
  
"Good night!" She said. She took Chloe from Matt when she got back to the kitchen, and took her to her room. She layed her down in her "big girl bed", kissed her goodnight, and started out of the room.  
  
"Good night mommy!" She called.  
  
"Good night, Chloe!"  
  
"I love you!"  
  
"I love you too." Sarah said with a laugh.  
  
"I lloovvee yyoouu!" Chloe called out, stalling her sleep.  
  
"I love you, now go to sleep!" Sarah said with a laugh, and she went back into the kitchen to begin cleaning up.  
  
A/N: Review please! I hope you liked. The idea for Chloe getting into the make up was suggested to me by SarahandMattCamden4Ever, make sure to check out her new story in the 7th Heaven section, Angel of Mine, which I, along with 2 other people and SarahandMattCamden4Ever, am co-writing. Enjoy! 


	4. A Day Out

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Also, I don't own or have anything to do with "Chuck E. Cheese's", mentioned in this chapter.  
  
A/N: Thanks for reviewing everyone. I love reviews! Hehe. Enjoy and review...oh and for those of you who don't have Chuck E. Cheeses where you live, it is a place with pizza and all these video games and stuff for kids.  
  
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Still Going Strong  
  
Chapter 4: A Day Out  
  
Cecilia smiled and hung up the phone. She looked around, not seeing any of her children, other than Charlie, who was sprawled out on the sofa, sound asleep watching Barney. She walked down the hall to her kid's rooms. She opened Ethan's door first, and saw both her son and daughter playing a board game on the floor.  
  
"Hey you two, Aunt Sarah called. She's taking Chloe and Sean up to Chuck E. Cheese's for the afternoon, and she's invited us to come!"  
  
"Yay! I love Chuck E. Cheese's!" Cried Ethan, jumping up and knocking over the game board.  
  
"Is Emily coming?" Asked Rachel.  
  
"Not this time." Cecilia told her daughter.  
  
"But why?" The 7-year-old protested.  
  
"Because she went to a friend's house today." She said.  
  
"Oh." Rachel said sadly.  
  
"So come on guys, let's go. Clean this up while I get Charlie and his things."  
  
"OK." Answered Rachel and Ethan. Cecilia grabbed Charlie's diaper bag and stroller. She put the stroller in the trunk of their car, and went in to get Rachel and Ethan, who were ready to go. They got in the car while she lifted the sleeping Charlie into the air and carried him to his car seat. He began to cry.  
  
"Shh, shh." Whispered Cecilia, trying to calm her young son. He fell back asleep after she buckled him in. When they arrived, Rachel and Ethan jumped out and raced ahead while Cecilia moved the sleeping one-year-old into his stroller. She pushed him inside. They quickly found Sarah, sitting alone.  
  
"Where is everyone?" Cecilia asked, peering around.  
  
"Sean is playing on the jet ski game, and Chloe is playing in the baby ball pit." She pointed Chloe out, about five feet away from them. Immediately Rachel and Ethan began to jump up and down.  
  
"Tokens!" Cried Ethan.  
  
"Please." Added Rachel. Cecilia handed her kids each 10 tokens, which they were instructed to "use wisely" and they were off. Cecilia wheeled Charlie up next to her, and she sat down.  
  
"Hello!" Sarah said warmly.  
  
"Hey!" Greeted Cecilia. "I'm so glad you called. The kids were so excited to come!" Cecilia smiled.  
  
"So were mine. Aww, look at the baby." Sarah said. Cecilia laughed.  
  
"Which one?" She asked, pointing from Charlie to Sarah's stomach and back to Charlie again."  
  
"Charlie!" Sarah said, jokingly. "I'm sure you didn't know which one I was talking about..." They laughed.  
  
"Aunt Cec...Cecilia!" Cried Chloe, running over and jumping into her aunt's lap. "Guess what!"  
  
"What?" Cecilia asked.  
  
"My birthday is in 9 days!" She cried, showing her aunt nine finger, just in case she hadn't heard her correctly.  
  
"Wow! And then how old will you be...1...2?" She asked.  
  
"3!" Chloe exclaimed. Cecilia laughed.  
  
"3? Wow! You're getting so big. I'll have to watch out!"  
  
"Yeah." Said Chloe, loving her attention. Something caught her eye in the ball pit and she leaped off her Aunt's lap and ran and jumped back into the pit, giggling loudly.  
  
The rest of the afternoon was fun, eating pizza, talking, and the kids getting to play. After a few hours, they said their good byes, and drove home, with smiles on their faces. 


	5. Chatting

Disclaimer: You know it already...I do not own AIM either.  
  
A/N: Thank you for the reviews!! I love to get them! A note to reviewer 'lily': No, I am not 'obsessed' with stay at home mothers, I just choose to have them all be stay at home mothers because it is much easier to write from that angle, being able to have mother and children together. Thanks everyone, and enjoy.  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 5: Chatting  
  
Lucy walked over to her computer desk and sat down. The house was calm...Kevin was at work, and the triplets were playing in their room. She double clicked on the 'AIM' icon and typed her password. Her buddy list appeared momentarily, and she saw that Sarah, who's screen name was '9MonthsAndCountin', in honor of her pregnancy, was online. She clicked on her sister-in-law's screen name, and typed "hello!". She pushed send, and a sound was played on Lucy's, '3s_Mom', for her triplets, screen.  
  
3s_Mom: Hello!  
  
9MonthsAndCountin: Hey, Luce! How are you?  
  
3s_Mom: I'm pretty good, how about yourself? How are you feeling?  
  
9MonthsAndCountin: Doing good, feeling great!  
  
3s_Mom: That's good. So where are your kids? The chance to get online is a rare one, anymore!  
  
9MonthsAndCountin: Well, Chloe's taking her nap, Sean's at his friend, Alex's house, and Emily's in her room. And yours?  
  
3s_Mom: Maddy, Will, and Luke are playing in their room. Last time I checked, Maddy was playing with her dolls, and the boys were building towers with their blocks.  
  
9MonthsAndCountin: Sounds like fun to me! Haha.  
  
Lucy was interrupted by a tug at her shirt. She looked down to see Maddy standing beside her.  
  
"Watcha dooin'?" The 3-year-old asked sweetly.  
  
"I'm talking to your Aunt Sarah on the internet." Lucy explained.  
  
"What's the...innernot?" Lucy laughed.  
  
"The Internet is a thing that can connect a lot of people so they can talk." She explained, simply.  
  
"Oh," Said Maddy. "Can I talk too?" She cried excitedly.  
  
"Sure." She picked up her daughter and placed her on her lap.  
  
3s_Mom: Miss Maddy came out and caught me online.  
  
9MonthsAndCountin: LoL.  
  
3s_Mom: She wants to talk to you. I'll type what she says. (I'll put my comments in parentheses.)  
  
9MonthsAndCountin: OK! Hi Maddy! (I'll do the same)  
  
Maddy giggled loudly when she recognized her name on the screen. Lucy read the message aloud.  
  
3s_Mom: Hi Aunty Sareee!! (She's kind of hyper this afternoon, if you can't tell.  
  
9MonthsAndCountin: (LoL) Hey sweetie! What are you up to today?  
  
3s_Mom: Me and Will and Luke are playing and I'm playing with my dolls, and I have one doll named Annie and she has brown curly hair and she looks kinda like Chloe, and where is Chloe? I like Chloe. (Yes, that was all said in one breath...I have a multi-talented daughter, no?)  
  
9MonthsAndCountin: (Yes, you do!) Your doll, Annie, does sound like Chloe! Chloe is taking her afternoon nap right now.  
  
3s_Mom: Like I did when I was just a two-year-old? (Miss maturity!)  
  
9MonthsAndCountin: (tough stuff!) Yeah, when you were just so little!  
  
3s_Mom: Yeah. (Yeah.) Mommy says that I gotta go now and play again cause she wants to get some work done. Tell her no.  
  
9MonthsAndCountin: I think I better obey her rules. Can't have your mommy angry with me!  
  
3s_Mom: (No way do you wanna have me angry with you, missy! LoL) OK. Bye bye.  
  
9MonthsAndCountin: Bye bye, Maddy. I love you! Tell your brothers hi for me!  
  
3s_Mom: OK. I love you. Bye!  
  
Maddy hopped off her mother's lap and ran back down the hall to her room. When she got to her room, Lucy could hear her telling her brothers about her time on the internet. Lucy turned back to the screen.  
  
3s_Mom: Well that was interesting...  
  
A/N: Review please! 


	6. A Birthday Surprise

Disclaimer: I do not own 7th Heaven, you know all that.  
  
A/N: I've gotten a few reviews about how all the women stay at home with their kids...sorry to those of you who dislike this, but this is my chosen writing style for this story. I'm happy with it, and so are most. I hope that you will continue to read, with that in mind.  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 6: A Birthday Surprise  
  
Lucy pushed her triple-stroller down the street with the chattering triplets in it down the sidewalk to the park. She turned in and walked to the large grassy section that had many, many blanket's spread out over it. There were balloons on the 2 large picnic table, and confetti on the 4 kids picnic tables. On a banner tied between two trees read "Happy 3rd Birthday Chloe".  
  
The kids were everywhere on the playground, and family was everywhere that Lucy looked. Will, Luke and Maddy started wiggling impatiently as their mother unbuckled them. She set them down on the ground one by one, and they took off to go play with their cousins.  
  
Lucy looked around her she saw Matt, and Sarah, large belly and all, Kevin, talking the other men, Cecilia, Simon, Ruthie, and Peter. Ruthie and Peter were chatting while Natalie sat in her bouncer happily, with Charlie only feet away in his bouncer as well. Lucy smiled and went to see her husband first, who greeted her with a smile and a kiss.  
  
"Where are the boys and Chloe?" He asked.  
  
"Over there, playing with the rest of the kids." She said, pointing to the playground. She spotted her children. Will and Luke were playing on the small climber (the only one the triplets were allowed to play on) with Sean and Ethan. Maddy was over with the birthday girl, Chloe, and Rachel. Lucy saw Emily swinging on the tire swing with two other girls who looked about her age. Lucy turned to face Sarah, who was behind her.  
  
"Who are those girls that Emily's with?" She asked. "Does she know them?" Sarah looked over and looked at the spot her daughter was in for a moment.  
  
"Yeah, those are her friends Alexa and Jen." Explained Sarah. "She's four years older than the second oldest child," Lucy began to think, so Sarah helped out. "Rachel." She said. Lucy nodded with a smile. "And she wanted to have them come today so she'd have someone to hang out with. I figured that it would be OK." Lucy smiled.  
  
"Sounds good to me!" She said with a laugh. "I did that when we'd have Ruthie or Simon's birthdays when we were kids. It's more fun with friends." Sarah nodded.  
  
"I didn't do that...but I didn't have any brothers or sisters, so I guess I couldn't!" The women laughed.  
  
"Didn't. Key word. Now that you've married Matt, you have 6...3 sisters, and 3 brothers! We're not even going to count the spouses!" They laughed. Matt called Sarah and she spun around.  
  
"Should we call them over for cup cakes and presents?" He asked. Sarah thought for a moment, and nodded. Lucy looked and Sarah in confusion.  
  
"Cup cakes?" She asked curiously.  
  
"Yes, cup cakes! Different for a birthday party, I know. Chloe insisted on having cup cakes instead of a regular cake after Emily told her it was like getting your own cake." Lucy laughed.  
  
"Sisters are great for confusing the younger ones. Mary did stuff like that a few too many times for my liking so she could get something she wanted." She said with a smile.  
  
"Chloe, Emily, Sean, Will, Maddy, Luke, Rachel, Ethan!" Matt called out, hands cupped around his mouth. "Food!" The kids came running from all around the playground and grabbed the cupcakes off the plate so quick that it looked like a big blur to the adults. They all ran to get seats at the kid picnic table, except for Emily and her friends, who insisted that they were not "children" so they didn't have to sit at the "children's table". Sarah stifled a laugh and told Emily no, and to go sit down at the kids table. She rolled her eyes pre-teenly and walked over to the smaller table with her two friends. After the kids finished, they all went to get their presents for Chloe from the table. Sarah, armed with a camera and a notepad, went over to take pictures, and record who gave which gifts. When the present opening was about half way done, Sarah bent over for a moment. When she stood up, she stomped her foot, and turned to Matt with a helpless look on her face.  
  
"What's wrong?" Matt asked his wife with concern. She lifted the edges of her floor length maternity dress to reveal a puddle beneath her. Matt's eyes grew wide. "Oh." He said calmly. After a moment, it dawned on him what was going on. "Sarah!" He said urgently, but quietly enough not to disturb the children. "We have to go to the hospital!" Sarah shook her head.  
  
"No, let's finish this first." Matt looked at her with a raised eyebrow. He crossed his arms.  
  
"Sarah, no. You're not pulling another Chloe." He said. Sarah crossed her arms as well.  
  
"But..." She said defiantly. Matt shook his head. He walked over to Lucy.  
  
"Lucy, would you please take over Sarah's job?" He asked, trying, unsuccessfully, to keep urgency out of his voice. Lucy nodded with a quick smile.  
  
"Of course. I'll take Emily, Sean and Chloe back to my house with us when we're done and they can stay the night." She said. Sarah shook her head and called Emily over. She whispered in her ear. Emily's jaw dropped.  
  
"Nice timing, mom." She said sarcastically. Sarah gave her pre-teen a "don't mess with me" look.  
  
"Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to use my..." She paused and put her hand over her stomach with a small grimace, "I'm going to call Jen's mom and ask if you can spend the night tonight." Emily nodded. Sarah pulled out the cell phone and dialed. "Hi, Jane, It's Sarah Camden...I'm pretty good, how are you?...well that's good. Listen, Jane, I have to ask you a favor...I just went into labor and we need to go to the hospital, and I was wondering if Emily could...oh thank you, Jane, we appreciate it...Thank you so much. OK, I'll have her call when the party's over...bye." She hung up and turned back to her daughter. "OK, Em, you're sleeping over at Jen's. You need to call Mrs. Overwood when the party is over so she can come pick you and Jen up. She said she would also drop Alexa off at home if she needed it." Sarah paused again and held her stomach, bent over slightly. After a minute, she stood back up again. "Aunt Lucy is going to stay, as will everyone else but dad and I. If anyone notices we are gone, just tell them, calmly, what's going on. I don't want to ruin your sister's birthday party. We have to go. I love you." She kissed Emily on the forehead, and with that, Sarah and Matt were off to the hospital.  
  
A/N: Review please! I hope you liked! STORY questions or comments, please e- mail me at CamdenGirlFanFic@aol.com. ONLY story questions or comments. NOTHING else. Please, no spam! If I get junk mail, this e-mail address WILL be terminated. Thanks... -CamdenGirl4Ever 


	7. An Eventful Evening

Disclaimer: You know the drill.  
  
A/N: Hey, thanks for the reviews! I thought it was funny how many of you said "perfect timing" in the review. Haha. One thing to clear up, Ruthie is not pregnant, like it says in the 1st chapter, (I changed it from the original epilogue, said in the 1st chapter) she had her baby, Natalie, who is 11 months old.  
  
Questions/comments, write to CamdenGirlFanFic@aol.com. NO SPAM OR I WILL ERASE THE E-MAIL ADDRESS.  
  
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Still Gong Strong Chapter 7- An Eventful Evening  
  
When Chloe was finished opening presents, the kids all darted off again. Chloe walked over to Lucy with a confused look on her little face. Lucy smiled at her niece.  
  
"Where's mommy?" She asked her aunt. Lucy thought for a moment on what to say. Once she decided, she looked down at her niece again.  
  
"She and your daddy went to the hospital to get the baby." She explained. Chloe thought for a minute, nodded her head, and ran off to go play. Lucy heard a baby coo behind her and she turned around to see Natalie staring at her with a wide smile from her bouncer. Lucy bent down and tousled her niece's hair. The baby giggled happily. Ruthie smiled up at her sister cheerfully. She looked at her watch.  
  
"So...Sarah's not to happy right about now." She said with a small smile. Lucy looked at her own watch and saw that it had been just over an hour and a half since Sarah's water had broken. Lucy smiled and laughed sadly in agreement. The party wound down soon. Ruthie left with Natalie first, who was getting fussy. Simon, Cecilia, Rachel, Ethan, and Charlie were the next to leave. Lucy called over the triplets, Sean and Chloe. She let them know that they were going to have a sleep over at her house. They were excited and started getting their toys picked up. Mrs. Overwood showed up soon after to take Emily, Alexa, and Jen. Emily said goodbye to her aunt, brother, and sister, and left. After they were cleaned up, Lucy and Kevin left with all five kids.  
  
It was a loud...very loud...walk home from the park. Maddy, Luke, and Will rode in their stroller, chatting away, while Sean walked along, carrying Chloe. About half way home, Sean claimed that "his arm was breaking" and sat Chloe down to walk herself. Chloe didn't like this very much, so Kevin carried her the rest of the way home. She chatted away to no one in particular for the rest of the walk. When they got home and the triplets were out of their stroller, the kids went wild. They all took off into the triplets' room in a split second. Sean went with them, saying he would "keep them in line". Kevin and Lucy laughed, and said OK. They walked over and collapsed together on the sofa, turning on the 6 o'clock news. They watched for almost a half-hour when Maddy and Chloe ran out of the room in tears. Lucy took her daughter and niece into her arms.  
  
"Sweet hearts! What's wrong?" She asked with concern. Kevin muted the TV and turned to help his wife. Maddy gasped for a breath before she began to talk.  
  
"Sean...and Will...and Luke" She sobbed, "Said there's no girls aloud in our room and they made us leave!" Lucy shook her head and stood up.  
  
"Stay here with Daddy while I go knock some sense into those silly boys." She said. Maddy smiled. Chloe plopped herself on her Uncle Kevin's lap and looked happily at the silent TV, watching the moving images. Lucy walked into the bedroom.  
  
"William and Luke Kinkirk!" She said forcefully. "AND Sean Camden!" She added. "This is Maddy's room to and it is not your job to kick her out! And it's Chloe's birthday! I thought you boys had more sense than that. You three are officially on time out. Come with me." They boys followed, heads hanging low. She sat Will in the corner of the kitchen, Luke facing the wall in the hall, and Sean was put in the corner of the dining room. Maddy and Chloe giggled with delight when they heard what Lucy had done. They hopped back down and ran back to the room. When they were about to close the door, Maddy stuck her head out.  
  
"No boys allowed!" She shouted. Lucy shook her head.  
  
"No, no, Maddy. Everyone is allowed in there." She said. Maddy sighed deeply and nodded her head.  
  
"OK." She said sadly, and shut the door. Lucy could hear them giggling from where she was sitting. She took Will and Luke out of time out after 13 minutes (her policy was 10 minutes plus your age), and let Sean go back after 16 minutes. They all darted back to the bedroom, and were playing in peace once again.  
  
After another hour of play, Lucy went in to tuck the kids in. Will, Luke, and Sean got to sleep in the triplet's bedroom, and Chloe and Maddy slept, by their request, in sleeping bags in the family room. They fell asleep to their favorite Barney video. Lucy and Kevin soon got into bed as well. Lucy looked at the clock. 8:52 PM was scrolled across the screen. She thought for a moment. Sarah had been in labor for five and a half-hours. Kevin shut off their lights. As they curled up to go to sleep, Lucy let out a sigh. Suddenly, the phone rang, jolting her from her sleepy state.  
  
"Hello?" She asked into the receiver. She heard Matt's out-of-breath voice on the other end of the line.  
  
"Lucy! It's Matt!" He said. "Sarah had the baby!" Lucy laughed happily at her brother's excitement.  
  
"When?" She asked.  
  
"13 minutes ago." He said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Well...do I have another niece or another nephew?" Lucy asked. Matt paused for a moment to hold Lucy's suspense.  
  
"You have...another nephew! We had a boy!" He said happily "We have two boys and two girls now!"  
  
"What's his name?" She asked.  
  
"Jack Eric." He said.  
  
"Oh, that's adorable!" Said Lucy. She could hear the smile in Matt's proud voice.  
  
"Well, Luce, I'll let you go. I'm sure you've had quite a night with 5 kids!" They both laughed.  
  
"It's been eventful, but not nearly as eventful as yours! Call in the morning, OK?" She asked.  
  
"OK. Love you." He said.  
  
"Love you too! Congratulations! Give Sarah my love!" She said. Matt told her he would, and they hung up. She rolled back over.  
  
"So? I heard that it's a boy, but what's his name?" Asked Kevin.  
  
"Well, now the Camdens have Emily, Sean, Chloe and...Jack." She told him. Kevin smiled.  
  
"That's great. I like that name." He said. Lucy agreed. She laughed.  
  
"OK, sleep!" She flopped down and closed her eyes. Kevin kissed her on the forehead, and they drifted off to sleep within minutes.  
  
A/N: So what did you think? Please review! 


	8. Crisis

Disclaimer: You know the drill.  
  
A/N: Thanks for the reviews!  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 8: Crisis  
  
Sean and Chloe slept over at Lucy and Kevin's house again the next night, while Emily stayed again with the Overwoods. When Sarah and Matt came home the following day, they picked their kids up and let everyone meet the new baby. He had a tuft of brown hair on his head and brown eyes, like his mom, dad, Chloe, and Sean. Emily, who had medium blonde hair, was the only odd- person-out.  
  
After they and Kevin left, Lucy got the triplets dressed and took them to the park again, after they had been insisting on going for over an hour. She pushed them down in their stroller, and spread out a blanket for herself on the grass. She sat and read while her three children played together all over the playground. She was greeted by her friend Jessica, who was there with her 6-year son, Steven. They chatted for almost an hour while Steven pushed the triplets on the baby swings. As Jessica was about to call Steven to leave, Lucy's cell phone rang. She fished it out of her purse.  
  
"Hello?" She asked into the receiver. A female voice answered on the other end.  
  
"Hello...Lucy Kinkirk?" The voice asked.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"This is Jamie at Glen Oak hospital. We were asked to call and inform you that your husband is here in our care." Lucy's face went pale and she got dizzy. She grabbed onto the blanket.  
  
"What?!" She cried. "What happened?"  
  
"I don't have the details, ma'am, I am just the messenger. Please come to this hospital immediately."  
  
"OK." Lucy stammered. She hung up the phone. "Will, Luke Maddy, Come here!" She cried frantically. They triplets ran over.  
  
"What's wrong, mommy?" Asked Luke, who saw the tears on his mother's cheeks.  
  
"We need to go see daddy. Come on." She said.  
  
"Lucy, what happened?" Jessica asked. Lucy had forgotten that she was even there.  
  
"It's Kevin. He's in the hospital. I have to get home so we can get up there." She said.  
  
"I'll drive you down." She said. She called her son over.  
  
"Jess, you don't have to do that."  
  
"I know, but I want to. Come on. Fold up the stroller and we'll put it in the back. I don't have car seats, so the kids will have to sit regularly, but I'm sure they'll be OK this once." Lucy nodded, in a trance. The got into Jessica's car and drove to the hospital. She offered to stay with Lucy, but Lucy declined the offer. She put the triplets in their stroller and ran inside, with them in front of her. She ran for the front desk.  
  
"My husband, Kevin Kinkirk is here. Where is his room?" She asked, frazzled and out of breath.  
  
"What is your relation to Mr. Kinkirk?" She asked.  
  
"I'm his wife." She said. The nurse nodded her head.  
  
"Well, Mrs. Kinkirk, his room is B132, but he's in surgery right now. Lucy gasped.  
  
"Why? When will he be out?" She asked, holding back her tears.  
  
"He is scheduled to be out in about an hour and a half."  
  
"When did he get here? When did he go into surgery?"  
  
"He got here about 45 minutes ago, and went into surgery right away." Lucy began to get dizzy again. She held on to the counter to keep her self upright. Her ears were ringing, and suddenly, everything faded, and went black.  
  
When she opened her eyes again, she didn't know where she was. She looked around her...white curtain walls...white sheets...it dawned on her that she was in a hospital room, in a bed. A nurse was standing next to her.  
  
"Ahh, you're up." She said.  
  
"Where's my husband? Where are my kids?" She cried.  
  
"Calm down. We took your children down to the day care center on the first level after you fainted. Your husband is still in surgery, but he will be out soon." She said. Lucy felt sick. She grabbed the empty plastic bag next to her and vomited.  
  
"Why am I here, in a hospital room? I only fainted." She said.  
  
"You're in the emergency room. We called the paramedics, who took your vitals...blood pressure, heart rate, and such. You're results weren't good. Pressure was high, and rate was low. They decided to move you into here. We need to do some blood tests. Lucy nodded her head. The nurse left for a moment and came back in a minute with supplies. She took blood from the underside of Lucy's elbow. When she was finished, she turned to Lucy, who was half awake. Her head was pounding, and she was still extremely nauseated.  
  
"We'll put these in the lab. We should have results in about a half hour. Why don't you get some rest." She said. Lucy nodded her head. She was asleep before the nurse even left the room...  
  
A/N: Muah ha ha ha ha! LoL. What happened to Kevin? What's up with Lucy? Look for the next chapter soon. 


	9. Explanations

Disclaimer: I don't own anything having to do with 7th Heaven or the WB.  
  
A/N: Read on, find out what happened!  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 9- Explanations  
  
Lucy awoke and looked over, seeing Kevin next to her. She lifted her arms out immediately for a hug, which he gave to her, one armed. She looked at him carefully, and gasped when she saw a large blue sling on her husband's arm, and his arm wrapped in bandages.  
  
"What happened?" She asked quietly.  
  
"When Roxanne and I were at a drug bust, one of the guys pulled out a gun and shot at both of us." He said. "I got hit right here in the shoulder." He pointed. "It got deep into the muscle so they had to operate to get it out. That's all." He said.  
  
"That's ALL? That's a lot! Kevin!" She burst into tears and hugged him again. He put his free arm around her.  
  
"It's OK. Don't worry about me." He said. Suddenly, Lucy sat up, and remembered what Kevin had said in his story.  
  
"You said he shot at you AND Roxanne." She said. "Is she OK?" Kevin looked at the ground.  
  
"She's..." He paused. "She's in critical condition. They shot her in the stomach and it caused a lot of damage. From what I know so far, they think it might have hit her spine, which would paralyze." Lucy gasped.  
  
"Oh no." She said. Kevin put his arm around her.  
  
"It'll be OK." He said unconvincingly. He decided to change the subject to spare his wife from any more stress.  
  
"I called your mom. She came and got Will, Luke, and Maddy. They went home with her, and she said they could spend the night so we can recover. She'll keep them as long as we need." He said. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Good. I didn't like them down in that day care." She said. Lucy put her hand over her once again nauseated stomach. "I feel so sick." She said. "I've been sick lately, but I haven't been throwing up like..." She vomited into a new bag that the nurse gave her 'just in case' "...today." Kevin rubbed Lucy's back.  
  
"Well, we'll find out what's going on. You're blood test results have been in for awhile. The nurse said that she came in but you were asleep. When I was awake after my surgery and feeling OK enough to come, she told me to come and see you."  
  
"I'm sorry Kevin. You're much worse off than I am. Go back to your room and go to sleep. Please." She said compassionately. Kevin took Lucy's hand in his.  
  
"No way. I'm staying right here, with you." He said. Lucy smiled and kissed him. There was a knock at the door, and the nurse entered, carrying a.  
  
"Oh, Mrs. Kinkirk. I see that you're awake, and that your husband found you all right." She said. "I have your blood test results." She said. Lucy nodded her head. Kevin took Lucy's hand, which was shaking.  
  
"Did you find something?" Asked Kevin. The nurse nodded her head.  
  
"Yes, we did." She said. "Mrs. Kinkirk, we tested your blood, as you know, and we found a rather interesting thing."  
  
"What?" They asked in unison. The nurse smiled and opened up the file, double checking.  
  
"Well, Mrs. Kinkirk, you're pregnant."  
  
A/N: ooohhhh. LoL. Review! 


	10. More Information

Disclaimer: I don't own the Wiggles either (thank God!) lol  
  
A/N: I love all my reviews. Thank you for your comments and support. Remember, send questions or ideas (which I ALWAYS need!!!) to camdengirlfanfic@aol.com, no spam. Thanks. Enjoy.  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 10: More Information  
  
Lucy and Kevin sat in a stunned silence for what seemed like hours. Instinctively, Lucy put her hand over her stomach. They looked at one another, then back at the nurse, at one another, back at the nurse. Despite herself, a smile spread across Lucy's lips. It wasn't a big wild smile...it was just a small, content grin.  
  
"A new baby." Lucy said quietly, her smile growing. "A baby! Kevin, we'll have four kids! I grew up in a big family...and now so will our children. I always knew I wanted more. Now we'll have four!" Her smile was huge now. Kevin smiled at his wife's excitement.  
  
"I thought that we weren't going to have any more kids..." He said. The nurse left them alone. Lucy shook her head.  
  
"I know, but I always knew I wanted them." She said. "And Kevin, no matter what, we're having one, because I'm pregnant." They both paused, hearing those words on Lucy's tongue for the first time in 3 years. Lucy reached for the phone next to her. "I have to call my mom." She said. She dialed and sat for a minute. She hung up. "No one's home!" She tried Sarah. The same...no one was there. She called Cecilia...and again, there was no answer. She was about to call Ruthie when there was a knock at the door, and the nurse came in again.  
  
"Mrs. and Mr. Kinkirk, there's some people here to see you." She said. Annie walked into the room, closely followed by Mary, Carlos, Cecilia, and Ruthie." They all circled the bed. Annie took her daughter and son-in-law into her arms protectively. Everyone else swarmed around and hugged them too.  
  
"What happened?" Was the resounding question from around the room for Kevin. He told his story, which was met with round eyes and gasps. Everyone looked to Lucy next for her explanation.  
  
"You got some blood tests by now, right? Did anything show up? What did they say?" She asked. Lucy smiled and looked at Kevin who nodded his head in approval.  
  
"Yes, they did show something..." She said. Her smile was huge. "They showed that I'm pregnant." The room was silent for a moment while the news sunk in, and then it erupted with congratulations. The nurse quickly shushed them, so they all laughed, and continued more quietly.  
"When are you due?" Asked Sarah.  
  
"Yeah, due date?" Added Ruthie.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Lucy said with a laugh. "I just found out about this like ten minutes ago. I haven't even had an appointment yet to find any of that out."  
  
"What we are going to do," The nurse interjected, "is schedule an appointment for her here, sometime this afternoon, with our doctor.  
  
"You have to call me." Annie said.  
  
"Like, the second you find out." Said Mary.  
  
"The very second." Ruthie added. Lucy smiled and nodded her head.  
  
"We will. Oh, mom! How are the kids being, are they giving you much trouble?" Annie shook her head.  
  
"No, they're being dolls! They're at home right now with your dad watching 'The Wiggles' music video. Lucy and Kevin laughed. Yep, those were their triplets all right. Annie left with Ruthie soon. Ruthie had dropped Natalie with the triplets and Eric so she could come down to make sure that everyone was OK. Cecilia had to get home to her three kids, who were playing at a friend's house, who's mother had so graciously taken them for the morning. Mary and Carlos, because they had no kids, got to stay for longer with Lucy and Kevin. They got to chat and catch up a bit before the nurse ushered them out of the room. After they were gone, she faced Lucy and Kevin.  
  
"OK, kids. I checked, and we have two openings today for you to have an appointment. One is in 20 minutes, at 11:30, and the other is at 2:00. Take your pick."  
  
"11:30." Lucy said immediately. She couldn't wait. She got ready, and 20 minutes later was wheeled down to the small office where her first appointment would be. The woman who was doing the appointment asked her a few questions, then had her lie down and lift up her shirt so they could see her stomach. She spread the cool goop over her stomach, and placed a probe over it. She moved it around slowly, studying everything on the screen with the utmost care. Finally, the woman turned to the Kinkirks.  
  
"Ok! Here's what I've learned from looking at this screen. You're about 17 weeks, or four months and a week or so pregnant."  
  
"Four months?" Lucy cried in surprise. She began to think, obviously trying to trace back to when her signs started...even when she didn't know what it was. It was all becoming clear now. Kevin squeezed his wife's hand reassuringly.  
  
"She's only having one though...right?" Kevin asked. The nurse smiled and nodded. "Yes, she's just having one, don't worry." They all laughed. During the questions at the start, she had asked if they had any children already, and Lucy had told her about the triplets. They finished up their appointment. Kevin was ushered back to his room at the nurse's request while the woman gave Lucy some prenatal vitamins and an iron supplement, because of her fainting. After they were finished, Lucy's nurse wheeled her back into her hospital room. She got back into bed, exhausted, and within minutes she was fast asleep.  
  
A/N: Hope you liked. Please review. Also, if you wanna read a great, (AWARD WINNING!), story, that is co- written by yours truly, check out Angel of Mine. 


	11. Chaos at the Kinkirk's

Disclaimer: I don't own Friends either.  
  
A/N: Thank you thank you thank you for the reviews! We will finally have a chapter that is venturing outside of the hospital. I need ideas for this story...e-mail me any you have, no spam. Camdengirlfanfic@aol.com.  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 11: Chaos at the Kinkirk's  
  
After a few weeks of pure chaos for everyone, things finally calmed down. Little Jack Camden turned one month old, and Lucy entered her 5th month of pregnancy. She had Kevin were both out of the hospital. Kevin was still in a sling, which made playing with the triplets more difficult. Roxanne was released from the hospital after two weeks, and Natalie Petrowski celebrated her first birthday with her mom and dad.  
  
Lucy's stomach began to get a little rounder, which she enjoyed. Will, Luke, and Maddy were very curious as to why there was a baby in their mother's stomach, when the baby was going to come, and how long it could be until they played with him or her. Lucy and Kevin answered their children's questions with smiles and laugher. They loved how curious they were. Kevin was on a paid leave from work for 2 more weeks. Lucy, who was extremely unhappy with the idea of her husband going back to work, protested daily. She had another doctor's appointment, which showed that everything was going as planned with the baby. She and Kevin chose not to find out the gender until he or she was born, but did decide on names for both a girl and a boy, which they refused to tell anyone, wanting it to be a surprise.  
  
The phone rang in the Kinkirk household at 11:30 am. Lucy answered, and heard Sarah's exhausted voice on the other end.  
  
"Lucy, I know it's huge, but could you watch Jack Chloe, and Emily for a bit. Sean has a doctor's appointment, and no one else could take the kids. Even though Emily's 11, I don't want to leave her home alone with a one month old, not to mention a 3 year old." Lucy sighed, but didn't let Sarah hear it. Her head was pounding, and she was so tired, she felt like she would drop. The last thing she wanted around was a newborn baby. She had forgotten what being pregnant was like, but she couldn't let Sarah down.  
  
"OK." She said, "When are you bringing them over?" She asked. She put her hand over her growing stomach. She felt sick, and hoped that this conversation would be over, and soon.  
  
"Is 15 minutes OK?" Asked Sarah. Lucy told her that it was, and they hung up. Lucy dashed down the hall and bent over the toilet, overcome with morning sickness. When she was about half way though her meeting with the nausea, some one tied her hair up messily in a scrunchie, and rubbed her back soothingly. When she was finished, she turned and smiled at her husband weakly.  
  
"Thanks." She croaked. She was overcome with sickness again, and threw up once more. Kevin took care of her until she was finished. She was just standing up when the doorbell rang.  
  
"Who's that?" He asked  
  
"Sarah...we're baby sitting Jack, Chloe, and Emily." Kevin put his hands on his hips.  
  
"You have to learn to say no." He said. Lucy looked at the ground.  
  
"I couldn't let her down..." Kevin rolled his eyes and answered the door. He said hello, took the baby, and watched as Chloe took off into the triplets' room. Emily mumbled hello, flopped down on the sofa, and turned on the television. Sarah shook her head.  
  
"That girl." She said. "She thinks she's 45 years old. Anyway thanks for doing this you're awesome. Gotta go be back at 5. I told Sean I'd take him out afterwards. He's getting some...S-H-O-T-S." He said good bye, and shut the door. As he turned around, he saw Lucy diving for the bathroom again, and the triplets and Chloe bursting out of the room, screaming and running around in a wild game of tag, in which it looked like they were all it. Emily sat, oblivious to the world around her, and Jack burst into tears in his uncle's arms.  
  
He bounced the baby up and down in his arms, trying to calm him down, but it wasn't working. The four 3 year olds were screaming so loud that Kevin could hardly hear himself think. He tried to shout over them to get them to quiet down, but that only made Jack cry harder. Emily, still oblivious stared at the screen, not even lifting a finger to assist her uncle. Lucy was still in the bathroom, which wasn't a good sign. He finally calmed the baby down by taking him outside where it was quiet. He fell asleep in his carrier. Kevin stuck his head in the door and called Emily to come and sit with the baby while he quieted down the kids. She did so, but not too happily. Kevin went inside and shut the door.  
  
"QUIET!" He shouted. The stopped for a moment, but seeing no real reason to listen, they quickly continued their game. Kevin cupped his hand (only one because his other was in the sling) around his mouth. "QUIET, or I'll deliver spankings all around!" He said forcefully. The kids stopped so fast that they were running into one another. He had their attention. "Sit down." He said. The kids did so quickly. Kevin walked over to them. He was about to start talking when he heard Emily at the door.  
  
"Um...Uncle K. I'm missing Friends. Can you hurry this up?" She asked. Kevin looked at her. "I'm taking care of this in my own time, and you're not old enough to be watching Friends. I'll call you when I'm done." He said. She sighed dramatically and shut the door.  
  
"NOW. William, Madison, Luke, and Chloe." He said. The triplets shuddered. Their father only used their full names when he meant business. "You four are being WAY too noisy. Kinkirk 3, you know better than that, and I'm sure that you do too, Chloe. Now, unless you want to be reminded, in a painful way, that you're not to be that loud, I want you all to go into your room and play, QUIETLY." He said with emphasis. They stood and did what they were told. Kevin stuck his head out the door and told Emily to bring the sleeping baby in. She sat his carrier on the ground at her feet when she plopped back down on the sofa and continued to watch Friends. Kevin went over and switched channels.  
  
"You're too young to watch that." He said.  
  
"My mom and dad..." She objected, but was interrupted.  
  
"Even if your parents let you, you can't watch it here. PLUS, Emily, I honestly don't believe that you're mother and father would let you watch that. If you watch it at home, it's only because they're busy with the new baby, and they don't know what you're watching." She gave her uncle a dirty look and turned back to the tv. He clenched his fists. If his daughter ever acted like that, she would be severely punished. He would do more, but he had to go check on his wife. He knocked quietly on the bathroom door. There was no response, so he opened it quietly.  
  
"Luce?" He asked softly. "Are you O..." He gasped. Lucy lay crumpled on the ground, unconscious. Her face was pale. "LUCY!" He cried. He dove to the ground and patted her face with his free hand. She didn't move. "Lucy!" He patted her face more. She stirred and looked up at him. Her face was still paper white.  
  
"Did I pass out?" She asked.  
  
"Yes! What happened?" He asked.  
  
"I got sick again...and then I got dizzy...like I did that day at the hospital...and..." Lucy clutched her husband's arm. "Kevin I don't feel right..." She passed out again.  
  
"Emily!" Kevin called. "Bring me the phone, fast!" She did so, tossing the phone into the bathroom and leaving again, not even noticing what was going on. He dialed 9-1-1. The operator said that they'd send an ambulance. He woke her up again, and she immediately threw up. Just minutes later, they heard sirens, and people rushed in with a stretcher. They loaded her on. "I'll be right there." Kevin said.  
  
"We're taking her to Glen Oak Hospital." They said. "Are you sure you don't want to ride along?" They asked. Kevin nodded.  
  
"I have 6 kids here, 3 are mine, 3 I'm watching. I have to get someone over here for them." They nodded and left. Unaware of the tears on his face, Kevin rushed into the living room. Finally Emily had taken notice.  
  
"What's going on?" She asked.  
  
"Aunt Lucy passed out. I have to call your grandmother to come over here to watch you guys so I can go to the hospital." He said. Emily gave him a "duh" look.  
  
"...I can watch them. I'm 11, ya know." She said with a slight attitude.  
  
"I know that. I also know that you weren't watching when you were only watching Chloe and Sean and she got into your mom's stuff. I'm not leaving 5 kids with you. That's too much for a kid, any ways." He ran to the phone and called Annie. There was no answer. He called her cell. She was just pulling into her driveway and telling him about how she had just seen an ambulance coming from over here, when he told her what happened. She was at the Kinkirk home in seconds, and Kevin raced to the garage and into his car. He backed out, and with that, sped to the hospital.  
  
A/N: What is wrong with Lucy? Look for another chapter soon. 


	12. With Bated Breath

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, Enjoy!  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 12: With Bated Breath  
  
The drive to the hospital was a blur. When he got there, Kevin leaped out of his car and ran. He didn't stop running until he was inside the hospital at the front desk.  
  
"My wife." He said, out of breath. "Here...pregnant...passed out...ambulance." He said.  
  
"Sir I'll have to know her name before I can do anything for you." She said.  
  
"Lucy...Lucy Kinkirk." He panted.  
  
"Ahh. Lucy Kinkirk. She's in the ER right now. They're doing tests. You'll have to wait in the waiting room.  
  
"I can't wait!" Kevin cried. "You don't understand! My wife is 5 months pregnant and something wrong with her!"  
  
"Sir, calm down. There's nothing that I can do. Please go wait in the waiting room." Kevin was too exhausted to argue any more. He made his way to the ER waiting room. When he got there, he sat down in the closest chair, and put his head down.  
  
The next 40 minutes were the longest of Kevin Kinkirk's entire life. He frantically wanted to know what was going on, but every time he asked, he got the same response..."She's being examined. No one allowed. Please wait, they should be out soon." It was so frustrating. He wanted to know what was wrong with his wife, and he wanted to know now. Finally, the door opened and two doctors, a man and a woman stepped out. They walked over to him.  
  
"Are you Kevin Kinkirk?" They asked. He nodded and stood up immediately.  
  
"Where's my wife. What's wrong with her? Where is she?" He asked. They motioned for him to follow them. He did so in silence. They did what he did not expect: they did not lead him into the emergency room section, where the stay was temporary; they led him into the main hospital section. The walk was eerie. There were white walls all around him. They walked in silence down to the end of the hall. When they got there, the doctor's finally turned around.  
  
"We've done some testing, and we've discovered that your wife is very, very anemic." They told him.  
  
"What's anemic?" He asked.  
  
"Anemia," The man said, "is a condition that develops when your blood is deficient in healthy red blood cells. Symptoms of anemia, like fatigue and fainting, occur because organs aren't getting enough oxygen." He explained. "It can also occur if the body doesn't get enough iron. We see from Lucy's record that she was given iron supplements at her doctor's visit when she was with us, but we see no change in her iron level. Tell me, Mr. Kinkirk, have you seen your wife taking those pills?" He asked. Kevin thought back.  
  
"I can't say that I remember seeing her doing so off hand, but I can't guarantee that she hasn't." He said. His mind was racing. "So she's anemic. Isn't that grand." He said. "Where is she. I have to talk to her!"  
  
"Wait, please." The woman took over. "Here's the thing. Your wife's body is extremely deficient in iron, and she is also very de hydrated, and undernourished. She's only eating barely enough for one person, and not nearly enough for two. With all those components put together...she's in a coma." She said.  
  
"Well get her out!" Kevin said. "I have to see her. Where is she? I have to see her." He tried to push past them, but they stopped him.  
  
"Please, sir, calm down. Part of the reason this happened is because of the high stress that she's under. She's in this room. You're free to go in, talk to her..." The man said. Kevin nodded silently. "If anything happens...anything at all, please just hit the intercom button next to her, and her nurse will be here immediately." They walked away. Kevin took a deep breath and put his hand on the door. He knocked, even though he knew there wouldn't be a response. He opened the door. He saw Lucy. He could hardly stand how helpless she looked, hooked up to all those monitors, lying limply in bed. Her slightly rounded stomach made it an even worse sight. He pulled a chair up next to the bed and held her hand in his. He put his face down and began to talk to her.  
  
"Lucy...you have to come out of this." He said. "You're the strongest woman that I know, and I know that you can do it. I mean, what can't you do? You're like super-mom, always there for the kids. You gave birth...and not an easy one, to triplets, you're always looking out for everyone else. You gotta look after yourself. I never even noticed that you weren't eating enough, or that you weren't taking your pills. Oh Lucy, I'm so sorry. I wasn't even there for you today when you needed me most. I promise that I'll look after you, baby. I'll take care of you so much better then I have been. Please...just come out. Please. You can't die...just come back." He burst into tears after one more look at her pale face, and from exhaustion, drift off to sleep right there.  
  
A/N: Review! 


	13. Answers

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I know I know! You're all so mad about the cliffie! LoL. I won't keep you reading this note any longer. On with chapter 13!  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 13: Answers  
  
Kevin slept for two hours there, with his head on Lucy's hospital bed, and his hand on hers. He finally awoke. It took him a few minutes to realize where he was. When he did, he shut his eyes again. He didn't want back into this reality. He knew he had to be strong, if not for himself, for Lucy. He opened his eyes again, and sat up. He turned around and looked at the clock.  
  
"Hey, sleepy head." Said a quiet voice. Kevin spun around to see Lucy looking at him through tired eyes.  
  
"Lucy!" He cried. With tears on his cheeks, he put his free arm around her and kissed her gently.  
  
[ A/N: I just heard your collective sigh of relief. Haha. Would I really kill Lucy? Well not in this story. In Wouldn't You know it though...anyway on with the story. Ps check out my story wouldn't you know it if you haven't already.]  
  
"Hey, baby." She said. "Don't cry." She wiped the tears from her husband's cheeks. "I'm OK." Kevin kissed her again. "You're certainly a sound sleeper. I woke up when my nurse was in here, and she freaked out and called in the doctors and there were a bunch of people in here doing tests on me and everything, and here you are sleeping like a baby."  
  
"You should have woken me up!" Kevin cried. Lucy shook her head.  
  
"No, you were tired. I wanted to let you sleep." She said.  
  
"Lucy, I'm so, so sorry." He said. Lucy looked at him with a confused expression. "I wasn't there when you needed me most today. And I haven't been watching you or taking care of you like I should have been. Luce, I should have noticed that you weren't eating enough, or how tired you were, or how you weren't taking your pills. I'm so sorry." He said. Lucy shook her head.  
  
"No, Kevin, I'm the one who's sorry. It's my fault that I wasn't taking my pills or eating or drinking enough. I knew that I should have been, but I didn't care. I didn't think that it mattered. I'm sorry." She said. They kissed.  
  
"I love you." He said.  
  
"I love you." Whispered Lucy. Kevin brushed her hair back.  
  
"You need rest. Go to sleep." Lucy nodded her head and pulled the blankets up to her chin.  
  
"Good night." She said. Kevin bid her goodnight and she fell asleep quickly. Kevin stood up and went out into the hall to the pay phone. He dialed his home and got Annie. He explained what was going on. Annie breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that her daughter and grand child were OK.  
  
"It's 5:30, so Sarah should be back any minute now." Annie said. "And don't worry, all right? I've got everything under control. I made dinner so the kids are all eating as we speak. Stay as long as you need to. I'll be here."  
  
"Thank you, Annie." Kevin said genuinely. "I can't tell you how much you mean to us. You've helped us so much lately with everything going on in Lucy's pregnancy. Thank you."  
  
"It's no problem." She said. "You guys are my kids. I'm always here for you." He thanked her again. They finished up their conversation and he hung up the phone. He sat down for 15 minutes to think, and to pray in silence. He finally got up. As he was walking back to Lucy's room, he was practically ambushed by Sarah.  
  
"Kevin!" She cried. "Where's Lucy? Oh, Kevin I have to talk to Lucy!" She was frantic. Kevin put his hands on her shoulders to calm her down.  
  
"Whoa whoa whoa. Don't worry." He said. She was reminding him of himself just earlier that day. "Lucy's OK."  
  
"What happened? All Annie said was that she's in the hospital and to come down while she kept the kids."  
  
"It's a long story." He said.  
  
"I have time." She said. Kevin nodded and told her all about how Lucy was anemic, and about the coma. "Is she awake?" She cried.  
  
"Yes, she woke up. She's OK, she's just really, really exhausted. They have her on an IV for nutrients and hydration. She's also having a ton of iron. She just went to sleep before I came out here." He said. Sarah nodded her head. Her eyes were brimmed with tears.  
  
"Matt doesn't even know yet. I tried to get through to him at work, but he was in with a patient. He won't be off until 7 tonight. He needs to be here...now!" She said.  
  
"It's OK, Sarah." Kevin said. "I'm here, and you're here. She's OK, and she will be OK. They're keeping her overnight for observation, but she'll be home in the morning as long as everything checks out." Sarah nodded her head.  
  
"Can I see her. I won't wake her." She asked.  
  
"Of course you can. I've been sitting by here all afternoon. You can pull up a chair too." He said. They went back into Lucy's room and Sarah sat in a chair next to Kevin's. Lucy awoke after only 10 minutes.  
  
"Sarah?" She asked.  
  
"Oh, Lucy, I'm sorry, we didn't mean to wake you!" She said.  
  
"You didn't, don't worry. What are you doing here?"  
  
"Annie told me that you were in the hospital. Lucy I'm so sorry! If I hadn't brought the kids over this afternoon, this never would have happened."  
  
"Yes it would have. This is all my own fault. I wish that everyone would stop blaming themselves!" She said. Sarah smiled at her.  
  
"I'm sorry that I brought the kids over. You should have just said no if you didn't feel good."  
  
"I know, but I didn't. It's not your fault, please don't feel bad." Lucy said. She squeezed Sarah's hand. "Look at this!" She said, changing the subject and pointing at her stomach. "There's a bump! It's so weird to be pregnant again." Sarah laughed and ran her hand over Lucy's stomach.  
  
"Yeah. I know how you feel!" She said. The evening ended easily and light hearted. Sarah and Lucy chatted about the pregnancy for a bit before she had to leave. Kevin stayed until about 20 minutes after Sarah left. He left, promising to return early the next morning. Lucy said OK, and fell asleep right after she left. She was finally getting her much needed rest.  
  
A/N: Are you happy? Hehe. Review! 


	14. Coming Home

Disclaimer: I don't own the Wiggles! (which is a good thing) A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I glad that you all are so happy. Hehe. On with the story!  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 13: Coming home  
  
Kevin arrived at the hospital the next morning long before his wife awoke. When her blue eyes finally did open, she smiled at the sight of her husband, who was sitting before her. He went to get her some breakfast, with permission from the nurse, and he came back with some pancakes and orange juice for her, which she gratefully accepted. After she ate, the nurse came in and did one final check up. Finding no reason to keep her in the hospital any longer, she was released. She was given more iron pills, which she was ordered to take. Kevin said that he would make sure that his wife did so. They took the few things she had with her at the hospital and got into their car.  
  
On the way home, they went by Annie and Eric's home to get the triplets, who were very pleased to see their mother and father. They each had their suitcases with them that their Aunt Mary and Uncle Carlos had given them the Christmas before, which were packed full with toys and other things to keep them occupied. Annie said that she had taken the kids over to their home to get some of their things, at their request. They thanked Lucy's parents profusely for allowing their children to stay there, then left for their own home. When they got their, Lucy went straight to bed, at Kevin's request. Kevin let the kids watch a Wiggles video for a bit while he put their things away, then fixed lunch for them.  
  
They were almost finished eating by the time Lucy woke up. Kevin saw Lucy coming down the hall. She was almost all the way to them when she caught sight of the food, turned back around, and darted for the bathroom. Kevin heard her throwing up and ran to take care of her. He held her hair back out of her face, and put a cool washcloth over her head. When she was done, she smiled weakly at him.  
  
"Thanks." She said. "Man, I sure hate being pregnant. How much longer will this being pregnant thing last?" Kevin smiled at his sick wife.  
  
"If you're at about five months now, then four more months. And remember, the doctor said you should be feeling better soon..."  
  
"Thank God." Lucy mumbled. "I think I'm better now." She stood up. Kevin went out and tossed the remaining food away that the triplets hadn't eaten before Lucy came out. He didn't want her to get sick again. She smiled and came out.  
  
"I would kiss you, but..."  
  
"Yeah, please don't." Kevin joked. Lucy slapped him playfully.  
  
"OK, where are my babies?" She asked. Kevin pointed to the door of the triplet's room. She opened the door. The boys were building a lego tower on the ground, and Maddy was sound asleep on the ground with a baby doll. Lucy laughed and scooped her only daughter up into her arms. The little girl stirred.  
  
"Hi mommy." She mumbled. "Are you all better?" She asked.  
  
"For now, sweetie. Go back to sleep." She carried her to her bed and laid her down. She then shooed the boys out of the room into the family room so their sister could sleep. They complained about the fact that their lego tower wouldn't be able to come with them, but Lucy assured them that they could play with it as soon as their sister woke up. They agreed and ran for the tv.  
  
"No." Lucy told them firmly.  
  
"But mom..." Objected Luke.  
  
"We have nothing to do!" Added Will.  
  
"Yes you do. No TV...you watched some earlier, according to dad. She got no response. "That's what I thought. Now, why don't you guys play in the back yard.  
  
"OK." Will said. He got up and started for the door. He ran outside. Luke, on the other hand, folded his arms over his chest defiantly.  
  
"No! I don't wanna go outside! I wanna watch TV!" He said.  
  
"No, sweetie. Let's go outside." She reached down and took his hand. He leaped back and kicked his feet violently.  
  
"NO!" He shrieked. Lucy put her hands on her hips. She was way too tired to deal with a mini rebel today.  
  
"Luke, get up. Come on."  
  
"No, no, no, no, no, NNOO!" He was screaming. Kevin came into the room when his wife called him.  
  
"I know you're working, and I'm sorry to bother. I'm too tired to deal with Luke right now, can you get him. I need to go out with Will." Kevin nodded his head. Lucy decided to give her son one more chance.  
  
"Luke, if you don't get up right now daddy's going to put you on time out." She warned. The toddler didn't budge an inch. "Fine." She said, and went out the door to watch Will. Kevin reached down and took Luke's hand to take him to time out.  
  
"Come on, young man." He said. Luke screamed and threw a fit. Kevin lifted him and carried him to the corner. As soon and he set him down, he took off and ran back to the TV. He tried again, and Luke did the same thing, despite Kevin's warnings. He tried again, still with no luck. Finally, after being properly warned, Kevin picked him up. "OK." He said. "It's time for a spanking." The little boy screamed, kicked, wiggled, and did everything in his power to get down, but he was not successful. Kevin carried him into his and Lucy's room and prepared his son for the punishment he was about to receive...  
  
"Higher!" Called Will as his mother pushed him on the swing. Lucy laughed and pushed him more. "Weee!" He cried happily. Lucy smiled. She put her hand over her stomach and sat down in a chair by the door. She was always so tired now, but, as the doctor had told her, that was a normal symptom of pregnancy. A few minutes later, as she was about to get up to push her son again, Kevin came out, closely followed by Luke. He had his hand over his bottom, and glared angrily at his father. Kevin pushed Will again, and lifted Luke into the next swing. He pushed him up to speed, then went to sit next to his wife.  
  
"Mama?" Asked a sleepy voice. They turned to see Maddy standing in the door, rubbing her eyes.  
  
"Hey cutie pie." Lucy said. Maddy came over and got into her mother's lap.  
  
"Who was being so noisy?" She asked.  
  
"That was Luke. He was misbehaving a bit." She said.  
  
"Oh." Said Maddy. She sat up. "Can I swing too?" Lucy nodded and the little girl ran over to the last vacant swing. Kevin lifted her up and got her swing going. He gave the boys' swings an extra push to keep them up to speed, and again went to sit by his wife. She had her hand over her slightly rounded stomach.  
  
"May 8th. That's when this one's due." She said quietly.  
  
"Yeah, that's right. And today's February 23rd." He said. She nodded. "When's your next appointment?" Lucy thought for a moment.  
  
"March 6th." She said.  
  
"OK. And we're really not finding out the sex of the baby?" He asked.  
  
"Nope." She answered.  
  
"Really really? Cause last time you said that you could never do that...not find out the sex of the baby..."  
  
"Really, Kev!" She laughed. "What's with you?"  
  
"I don't know. I'm just curious, that's all."  
  
"It'll be more fun to fin out when he or she's born."  
  
"OK...whatever you say..." Kevin said. They laughed. Kevin leaned over to kiss his bride. He was about to do so again when there was a chorus of:  
  
"Higher!" from where the swings were located. They laughed and each got up to give the swings a push. It was turning out to be a nice afternoon after all.  
  
A/N: Review please! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. 


	15. The Joys of Parenting

Disclaimer: You know, yeah, yeah, yeah. LoL. I don't own Hot Wheels either.  
  
A/N: Your reviews have been, and still are very appreciated! I hope that you all enjoy this next chapter. Finally, a chapter that doesn't only center on the Kinkirks! Haha.  
  
Camden-Kinkirk: I read your stories...they are really great! I love them. x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- x-x-x-x-x-  
  
Still Going Strong Chapter 15: The Joys Of Parenting  
  
At four o'clock on March 2nd, the Camden household was alive. It was a Saturday, so the house was full. Emily sat, big surprise, in front on the television set. Sean was playing with his Hot Wheels cars, Chloe was playing with her doll house, and Jack was starting to cry in his mother's arms. He was screaming and carrying on like there was no tomorrow. Chloe, who was still on the edge after her nap, finally had enough of the racket, and began to cry herself. Sarah, who already had her hands full with her screaming son, looked helplessly at Chloe. Matt was at the hospital for the labor of one of his patients, and she was stuck at home. As if a chain- reaction, Sean got fed-up with the crying of his younger siblings, and started in himself. Sarah shook her head.  
  
"Emily!" She called. The girl couldn't hear over the crying, and the noise of the television. "Emily!" She called louder. Still no response. She grabbed the remote and turned the television set off, finally getting her daughter's attention.  
  
"Mother!" She called. "Turn that back on!"  
  
"No!" Sarah said. "Come help me! Take Chloe and calm her down!"  
  
"She's not my responsibility!" Emily called back. She turned back to the TV and hit the power button. Sarah again shut it off.  
  
"MOM!" Emily screamed.  
  
"Emily, get over here and help me!" She said. The pre-teen stood up.  
  
"No! These aren't MY kids. They're yours. Now learn to take care of them." She stormed into her room and slammed the door. Her music was heard blaring from the other side. She walked into the hall and pounded on Emily's door.  
  
"Get out here!" She shouted. The girl did nothing but turn her music up. She screamed out of frustration. Finally, Sarah, angry, hurt, and over tired, burst into tears.  
  
Matt pulled into the driveway and got out of his car. He heard a racket inside. He shook his head. 'What's going on in there?' he wondered to himself. He walked up and opened the door. What he saw shocked him. His wife was standing in the middle of the room holding their crying son, while she herself was crying. Their daughter was crying in the corner, their son was crying a few feet away from his sister, and Emily was no where to be found. He didn't know where to start.  
  
Matt walked past the crying group into the kitchen. He went over to the fridge and took the shopping list down. Grabbing a pencil, he scribbled "Kleenex" at the top of the list. He put it back up on the fridge and went in to help. He calmed Sean down, who stopped Chloe's tears by occupying her with her doll house again. Sarah went into Jack's room to feed him now that it was quiet. He fell asleep soon after he was finished eating. Sarah laid him carefully in his crib and left the room. With her daughter's music still playing so loudly, the baby would never stay asleep. She grabbed a room key, and went to Emily's room. She stormed inside and turned off the CD player.  
  
"Emily! Get over here." Emily rolled her eyes and came. Sarah shut the door. "Listen to me, young lady, I've had it up to here" She motioned to the top of her head. "With this attitude of yours. You're right, these are my kids, but so are you, and your siblings are still your responsibility. You need to be a leader."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I have to be a leader, I have to set a good example..." She rattled off impatiently.  
  
"Yes, you do." Sarah said. "I don't know what has been up with you lately, but I want this attitude to quit, and now. Do you understand me, young lady?"  
  
"Mmm hmm..." She said, not paying attention. "Are you done now, cause I like this song."  
  
"That's it!" Sarah cried. "You're officially on restriction."  
  
[a/n: restriction is like being grounded for those of you who don't know.]  
  
She stormed over to Emily's CD player and took out the CD. She then grabbed her CD case, which held all of her music.  
  
"These will be mine until you're attitude is much, much better." She said. "There will be NO phone, NO music, NO internet, NO TV, NO friends over, NO parties, NO anything except for going to school and doing your homework. Have I made myself clear?"  
  
"But mom..." Emily whined.  
  
"HAVE I made myself clear?" She asked.  
  
"Yes." Emily said quietly.  
  
"Good. Now, I believe you have some homework to do." Sarah said. She turned on her heel and walked out of the room. She hid the CD's in her closet and went out to where Matt was sitting in the family room. He took her into his arms.  
  
"Hello." He said.  
  
"Thank you." She said gratefully, "For helping me with the kids." Matt kissed her on the head.  
  
"Of course." He said. They kissed.  
  
"I'm going to go take a nap. All of this crying has worn me out, and now that Jack's asleep, this is my only chance." Matt nodded his head. He stood and picked her up.  
  
"Matt, what are you doing?" She asked with a laugh. He carried he down the hall and laid her in bed. He proceeded to cover her up, kiss her good night, tell her to sleep well, shut off the light, and close the door. In the unfamiliar silence, Sarah curled up in a ball and shut her eyes. In only seconds, she was sound asleep.  
  
A/N: Hope you liked this. For the record, yes, the CD taking is realistic (trust me...lol) for those of you wondering. 


	16. Lunch Break

Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven...(blah blah blah...) Ed's, the restaurant in this chapter, was made up by yours truly. It belongs to me.  
  
A/N: Thanks for reviewing. Enjoy this chapter  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 16: Lunch Break  
  
The next day, Sarah walked down the hall into Emily's room. She walked in to see her daughter sitting on her bed reading a book.  
  
"Em...I'm going out." She said.  
  
"Like I care." Emily said rudely. Sarah sighed.  
  
"Dad's out, so you're baby sitting."  
  
"$8 an hour. Take your time." She said without even looking up from her book.  
  
"No charge because you're on restriction, and yes, I will take my time." Sarah told her. Emily's jaw dropped and she looked up from her book.  
  
"There's no way that I'm watching Sean, Chloe and Jack for Heaven only knows how long if you're not paying me."  
  
"You most certainly are, and if they tell me that anything, I mean anything, happened with you while I was gone, there will be serious consequences."  
  
"Like what?" Emily challenged.  
  
"Like you'll see. And trust me, you don't want to test me."  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Good. I'm taking the baby with me, so you'll only have Sean and Chloe. Behave, or else."  
  
"Behave or else." Emily mimicked in a high voice.  
  
"Emily Camden, don't try me."  
  
"Emily Camden, don't try me." She mimicked happily. Sarah clutched Emily's jaw tightly.  
  
"Listen to me, Emily, I don't have time to deal with an 11 year old brat. Shape up. Now. Get it? Good." She let go and walked out of the room.  
  
20 minutes later, Sarah pulled into the parking lot at the promenade. She took the baby in his carrier out of the car. He was asleep, thankfully. She walked up to the tables outside of Ed's. Annie walked up a few minutes later.  
  
"Hey sweetie." She said warmly, hugging her daughter-in-law. She sat down across from her. "So what's up? What was so urgent?"  
  
"It's Emily..." Sarah said. "She's acting so..." Sarah searched for the right word. "Off. She's been extremely rude, she won't do anything I say, she won't help me with the kids, and she acts like she's the only on in this world who matters!" Annie shook her head.  
  
"Yes, I've been through having kids like that. 7 times actually, on varying degrees." She smiled. "Matt was OK, Mary was absolutely horrible...hard to live with, to say the very least, Lucy was a complete drama queen, Simon just didn't talk to us much, Ruthie was almost the actress that Lucy was, and Sam and David just rebelled for those few years. It's not fun."  
  
"You can say that again!" Sarah said. Annie gave her a sad smile. "I just don't know what to do! Emily seems to be a mix of Mary and Lucy."  
  
"Well, if it's any comfort, almost every kid does that, in their own way. Just be forceful. How have you punished her?"  
  
"She's on restriction...I took away all forms of communication." She said. Annie gave her the thumbs up sign.  
  
"That's crucial. If she keeps acting like that, continue to take more away. Mary got so bad that all her room was was four walls a bed and a desk. She got everything else taken away, and she had to earn it all back."  
  
"Wow! Well, let's hope it doesn't get to there!" Annie shook her head.  
  
"Definitely." It was at that time when Jack woke up. He cried loudly for his mother to pick him up. She did so.  
  
"I need to get someone fed...please excuse me for a moment." She said. She took her son into the bathroom to feed him in privacy. She came back 15 minutes later. She put the baby back into his carrier and gave him his favorite toy, and a pacifier. He sat happily looking around while his mother and grandmother finished their conversation and ate their own lunches.  
  
When they were done, they hugged.  
  
"Thanks Annie." Sarah said. "So much."  
  
"Oh, no problem. Any time." She said with a smile. "Good luck with Emily. Call me anytime if you need anything." Sarah nodded her head. They hugged one more time, then went to their cars.  
  
Sarah drove home. When she got there, she saw Chloe sitting on the door step crying. She set Jack's carrier down and scooped her youngest daughter up into her arms.  
  
"Baby, what happened?" She asked with concern.  
  
"Emily said, "She sobbed, "That I had to go outside cause she's mad at me."  
  
"And why is she mad at you?" She asked.  
  
"Cause I broke her toy." Chloe said, calming down a bit.  
  
"What toy?"  
  
"Her toy that goes on her CD player that she puts on her head."  
  
"Her head phones?" Sarah asked.  
  
"Yeah those."  
  
"I see..." Sarah said. Emily knew fully well that she was not to be listening to any music. She just wanted to know how she had gotten her cd... "OK sweetie, let's go inside." They went inside and Sarah sat her purse down on the table.  
  
"Emily Katherine Camden!" She yelled. "Get out here, now!" Emily came out of her room with an innocent look on her face.  
  
"Yes, mom?"  
  
"Oh quit with the acting." Sarah said, getting fed up. "First of all, what on earth makes you think that you can put your 3-year-old sister outside? She could get kidnapped or she could run away! Emily what were you thinking? And secondly, you put her out because she broke your headphones? You know very well that you're not allowed to be listening to music. Your room. Now." They walked into her room where Sarah found Emily's CD player and CD's hiding under her bed. She took these items.  
  
"MOM! I need those!" Emily cried.  
  
"Why is that?" Sarah asked.  
  
"I'm planning the music for my birthday party." She said simply. Emily's 12th birthday was coming up soon, and her party was in 5 days. Sarah had totally forgotten.  
  
"Well, congratulations Emily, You're cancelling the party."  
  
"WHAT?!" Emily screamed.  
  
"You heard me. You're on restriction, remember. 'No parties' was on that list. End of story. Better start calling your friends."  
  
"But I thought I wasn't allowed to use the phone!" She said sarcastically.  
  
"For this, you are, but you'll be doing so in the kitchen, with me there."  
  
"Mother!"  
  
"End of story. Come on." Emily sighed dramatically.  
  
"Fine." With that, they walked into the kitchen.  
  
A/N: Review, review, review!! : - ) 


	17. A Stressful Morning

Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven or anything having to do with it!  
  
A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for all of the reviews. Silly people, you're so undecided! Half of you said that you think Sarah is being just horrible, and the other half of you said that you think Sarah is being so great! LoL. Make up your minds! Haha. Enjoy this chapter.  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 17: A Stressful Morning  
  
Two months later, Lucy, who was well into her 8th month, walked across the kitchen with her hand over her round stomach. She picked up the phone and looked down at her list below her on the counter. 'Mom and Dad...Check, Sarah and Matt...Check, Mary and Carlos...Check, Simon and Cecilia...Check, Peter and Ruthie...oh, no check!' She dialed the Petrowski's phone number and put the phone up to her ear.  
  
"Hey, Ruthie! It's Luce...I'm doing well, how are you?...That's great. Well, I'm calling to invite you over for a barbecue over here tomorrow after church. We're having the whole family over. It should be a lot of fun!...Yes, kids come too...OK, that's great! See you after church!...Bye." She hung the phone up and smiled to herself, checking off the last name on her list. Everyone was coming. There was going to be a full house at the Kinkirks' place tomorrow!  
  
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"Hello, Sarah! This is Annie!" Annie said warmly into the phone. She held her own paper list in her hand, and had a sly smile on her face. "So are you coming to Lucy and Kevin's tomorrow after church?...Yes, so am I. Well, here's what we're going to do..." She continued to tell Sarah her plan. After she finished, she called everyone else. Yes, tomorrow would be a busy day.  
  
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The rest of the day passed quickly, and soon it was Sunday morning. Kevin rolled out of bed and got into his church clothes. He then went to wake up his sleeping wife. He put his hand on her shoulder and whispered her name. She stirred and mumbled a bit, before falling back asleep. Kevin smiled and tried again, this time being successful. Lucy sat up and got out of bed, with help from her husband. She walked into their closet and chose her large bellied church dress, and slipped it on. When she came out Kevin smiled at her.  
  
"You look so cute." He said, putting his hand over her big stomach.  
  
"Kevin Kinkirk, I am anything but cute. Fluffy, maybe. Fat, most definitely. But cute?! I think not!" She shouted. "I'm the mother of triplets. I just woke up. I have absolutely no make up on, and I look like some one attached a basketball to my stomach!" Kevin looked at her, trying to keep him self from laughing.  
  
"Lucy, you look beautiful. You have a big stomach because you're practically nine months pregnant! Only one week left until you are!" He said.  
  
"Don't try me, Kevin. I'm tired, fat, and have 18 people coming over later, 23 counting you and the kids. I'm stressed beyond all belief!" She stomped into the bathroom to put on her make up. Kevin came in behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.  
  
"So that's what this is about. The company!" He said, sounding like the light had just turned on in his mind. "I'm going to get it all taken care of! Don't you worry about it. I bought all the snacks last night when I went to the store with the kids. Calm down." Lucy sighed.  
  
"Sorry." She said. "Life's just so crazy!" She said, putting one hand on her head, and one on her stomach. She shut her eyes and leaned back into Kevin's chest. As she took a sigh of relief, the silence was broken.  
  
"Mommy! Mommy!" Cried three young voices, and a stampede of footsteps were heard running down the hall.  
  
"In here!" Kevin called. The triplets ran in.  
  
"You're not mommy." Will commented.  
  
"Yeah, she is!" Luke said, pointing to Lucy.  
  
"I know that, silly kid. I just answered because you mom and I are together and she's tired."  
  
"Oh." They chorused.  
  
"Why is she tired?" Maddy asked. They all ran forward and began jumping up and down and pulling to Lucy's dress.  
  
"Mommy come play with us! Come on! Why are you tired? I'm hungry. Let's go eat, MOMMY, come on!" They yelled, all three shouting different things.  
  
"That's it!" Lucy yelled. "Out! Now!" Kevin pushed the kids out the bath room door and followed them out, shutting the door behind him.  
  
"I want you three to go and get dressed for church." He instructed.  
  
"Can we choose out own clothes?" Maddy asked excitedly. Kevin nodded his head.  
  
"YES!" They chorused and took off for their room. Kevin smiled and went back into the bathroom, where Lucy was applying her make up.  
  
"Thanks." She said. Kevin nodded.  
  
"Any time." He said with a smile.  
  
"I'm almost done." She told him. "How does my make up look?"  
  
"You look great." He said. She smiled.  
  
"Thanks. Now, if only my stomach wasn't the size of Texas..." Kevin lifted her chin so she was looking at him.  
  
"You look great." He repeated.  
  
"Thanks." She whispered.  
  
"Church starts in 15 minutes, we need to go!" Kevin said. "We're running late."  
  
"Oh!" Lucy cried. "I hadn't even noticed the time! Let's go!" She rushed out into the hall. "Will, Luke, Maddy, come on!" She called. The triplets emerged from their room with large, proud smiles on their faces. Lucy gasped. "Kevin!" She cried. Kevin came out, and burst into laughter. "Did you tell them they could dress themselves?" She asked. Kevin nodded and the triplets giggled. Maddy was in her favorite black boots, her long purple skirt, and a dark brown shirt. Will wore sweat pants with a huge hole in the knee, along with his P.J. shirt and socks. Luke was dressed in shorts, so shirt, and slippers on his feet. Lucy put her hand on her forehead. "Back in your room! Now!" She said, following them into their room. "Kev, stay here. I have to fix this." She said with a shake of her head. The four came out a few minutes later. Luke and Will were now dressed in matching tan pants and white shirts. Over their white shirts, Luke had a blue vest, and Will had a green vest. Maddy had on a pink ruffley dress and white buckle shoes. Kevin's jaw dropped.  
  
"Kids, take a look at your mother: The most amazing woman on earth." He said with a smile. They obediently looked up at their mother and then back down again.  
  
"Let's go." Lucy said, smiling at Kevin. They ushered the children out of the house and into the car. Lucy, with help from her husband, got into the car and got the seat belt over her stomach, and Kevin climbed into the driver's seat. They backed out of the driveway, and started for church.  
  
A/N: Review please! What is Annie up to? Find out in chapter 18, coming soon! 


	18. Sunday Morning Surprises

Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven, you know the drill!  
  
A/N: I'm glad that you guys liked the last chapter! I hope you continue to enjoy. Now, I'll let you see what Annie's up to...  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 18: Sunday Afternoon Surprises  
  
The Kinkirks soon arrived at church. Kevin dropped the triplets off in their Sunday School class, and he and Lucy went into the main service. Lucy loved to watch her father, speaking to everyone. He was, and always had been, her hero. She only hoped that some day, her kids would feel that way about her. The service went by quickly, and was finished right on time. Lucy picked the kids up, and they drove home.  
  
When they got home, there was a whirlwind of activity. Kevin finished up the preparations, while Lucy got the kids out of their church clothes, and into some play clothes. Will and Luke were in shorts and tee shirts, and Maddy was in a blue sun dress with yellow flowers. As Lucy went into her room to change into something other than her nice clothes, the doorbell rang. She sighed and put her hand on her forehead. Kevin called out that he would get it, and to take her time. She smiled, and walked into her closet. She chose a color speckled, knee length skirt, and a pink spaghetti strap top. She fixed her make up a bit, and started for the door. She reached for the handle. Suddenly, the door opened, and Kevin came in with a smile on his face. He kissed her on the forehead.  
  
"All ready?" He asked her. She nodded her head. He bent down to talk to her stomach. "And you. All ready?" Lucy laughed and pushed his head away.  
  
"Kev! Leave my bowling ball alone." He kissed her and took her by the hand. He led her down the hall and into the kitchen. "Where is everyone?" She asked.  
  
"Back yard." He said, they turned and walked for the glass sliding doors that led into the back yard. As soon as Lucy's foot hit the cement outside the door, 18 voices chorused:  
  
"Surprise!" Lucy's jaw dropped. Everything was decorated pink and blue. A banner was across the back fence that read 'T Minus 31 days: Congratulations Kevin and Lucy!'. The triplets ran over and threw their arms around Lucy's legs. She smiled, and bent down, to the best of her ability, for a hug. After they stopped, Lucy straightened up and stepped forward.  
  
"Who did this?" Lucy asked in shock. Annie raised her hand with a smile. Lucy rushed forward to hug her mother. "Thank you!" Annie nodded her head.  
  
"Every mommy-to-be needs a baby shower." She told her daughter. Lucy smiled and hugged her again. She then stepped back to look at everyone who was there. Eric, Matt, Carlos, Simon, Peter, Sam, and David were all standing in a group by the food, with full plates. Sarah stood, holding Jack in her arms, with Mary, Cecilia, and Ruthie. The kids: Emily, who had been shaping up very much lately, Sean, Chloe, Will, Luke, Maddy, Rachel, and Ethan were running around the yard playing happily. Charlie and Natalie were each close by their mommies, Cecilia and Ruthie, in their baby walkers. Neither Cecilia nor Ruthie were quite ready to let their one-year- olds go play with the big kids yet.  
  
Lucy, who was very hungry, having not eaten yet all day, made for the food table. After piling her plate high, she went to join in the conversation with Annie, Sarah, Mary, Cecilia, and Ruthie. They smiled when they saw her coming.  
  
"Ahh, I'm so glad that I'm through with that stupid morning sickness!" Lucy said, happily popping two salsa chips into her mouth. "Mmm mm mm!" They all laughed.  
  
"So, Luce..." Ruthie began, "am I going to have a niece or a nephew?" Everyone leaned in for the answer. Lucy laughed.  
  
"Oh come on! You all know very well that Kevin and I aren't finding out!" She said. There was a collective dissatisfied sigh from around the group.  
  
"No fun." Annie complained. The other women nodded their heads.  
  
"Nope!" Lucy said with a smile. They talked for awhile longer before all the baby shower games began. They played "Guess That Smell", "Baby Trivia", and a "Diaper changing race" and tons more things. By the end of the afternoon, everyone was having fun. After gifts, it was finally time for everyone to go home. Lucy was sad to see them go. She said good bye to everyone individually, giving an extra tight hug to Sam and David, whom she never got to see. They both reported doing well at CSU.  
  
After everyone was gone, Lucy was sent to her room to nap while Kevin and the kids cleaned up. She fell asleep happily after her satisfying afternoon that she knew she would never forget.  
  
A/N: I know some of you guessed Annie's little plan! LoL. Hope you enjoyed. Please review! 


	19. An Afternoon to Remember

Disclaimer: Yeah yeah yeah, you already know all this! I don't own McDonald's, by the way.  
  
A/N: THANK YOU for the awesome reviews! I'm so lucky to have great readers like you. Thanks for your comments, and continue to enjoy the story!  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 19: An Afternoon to Remember  
  
On April 28th afternoon, Ruthie dialed Cecilia's phone number. It rang once, twice...a third time, then she heard it other line being picked up.  
  
"Hello?" Asked the young voice of 7-year-old Rachel.  
  
"Hi, Rachel, it's Aunt Ruthie." She said. "Is your mommy around?"  
  
"Hi Aunt Ruthie. Yep...let me go find her." She said. "MOM!!" Ruthie laughed.  
  
"Hello?" Answered Cecilia.  
  
"Hey, it's Ruthie. I'm taking Natalie up to McDonald's for lunch, and we were hoping that you and the kids might like to come as well. Gives Nat some company, and her mommy some company too." Cecilia laughed.  
  
"Sure, we'd love to come! What time were you thinking of going?"  
  
"At about 1:00."  
  
"OK, see ya then!"  
  
"Ok, bye." They hung up. Ruthie turned around and picked up her one- year-old daughter, tousling her curly brunette hair. She carried her into her bedroom. After changing the baby's diaper, she dressed her in a white top with blue jean overalls, which had a red strawberry on the front. She gave her red socks to match, and tiny white tennis shoes. They got in the car and drove up to McDonald's.  
  
When they got there, Cecilia, Rachel, Ethan, and Charlie were already there. Ruthie and Natalie joined them at their large table. To her surprise, Ruthie also saw Sarah sitting there at the same table, with Sean, Chloe, and Jack. Cecilia smiled when she saw Ruthie approaching.  
  
"Hello. When we got here, Sarah and the kids were already here! They invited all of us to sit with them." She explained.  
  
"Oh, thanks Sarah!" Ruthie said with a smile.  
  
"Any time." Sarah said. "None of the kids are hungry yet, so I'm going to let them go and play on the play ground for a bit to tire them out."  
  
"Sounds good to me." Cecilia said. She leaned down to Rachel. "Rachel, I need you to keep a very, very close eye on your younger brother." Rachel agreed and they were off. Sean and Chloe left soon as well, Sean being under orders to watch Chloe. Charlie was sitting happily on his mother's lap when Natalie began to wiggle out of Ruthie's arms.  
  
"Paygound!" She insisted, leaving out her 'L' and 'R' in her words. Ruthie smiled.  
  
"OK, you can go play." She said. She carried the little girl over to the baby ball pit.  
  
[A/N: For those of you who don't have those where you live, they are tiny, shallow ball pits for the babies 0-2 to play in]  
  
Cecilia followed with Charlie, and put him in the pit as well. The babies happily began to play, throwing the plastic balls around. Cecilia and Ruthie smiled at their children, then went to sit back down. Sarah was holding Jack in her arms. He was eating from his bottle, with out a care in the world. The adults began to talk, when Ruthie's cell phone began to ring. She reached into her purse to answer.  
  
"Hello, this is Ruthie." She answered. "Hey...what's wrong?...oh my!...yeah, I'm so sorry that you couldn't get through on my home phone, I'm at McDonald's with Nat...Sure, definitely. Bring them here. They can stay the night...Really, it's no problem...Yes! Don't worry!...ok, we're at the McDonald's on 63rd and Pine. OK, see you in a minute...bye." She hung up the phone and turned to Cecilia and Sarah with wide eyes. "That was Lucy." She said. "Her water just broke!"  
  
"Oh my gosh!" Cried Sarah and Cecilia in unison.  
  
"I know! She was due May 8th, so she's a week early. She and Kevin are going to drop the triplets off here, and they're just gonna stay with Peter, Natalie and I." She explained. Before the other women could answer, the door opened, and Kevin and Lucy walked in with the kids. Lucy was holding her large stomach, breathing deeply.  
  
"Not too bad right now, but they'll get bad soon. Gotta practice." She said with a sad smile. Everyone laughed. The triplets put their shoes in the shoe holder and ran off into the playground, after saying a quick good bye to their mom and dad. "They don't quite understand what's going on." She told Ruthie. Ruthie smiled.  
  
"It'll be fine. OK, you two, get out of here! You have my little niece or nephew to deliver!" They laughed.  
  
"OK, thanks again, Ruthie, really." Kevin said.  
  
"Any time! Now go!" Lucy and Kevin left. After they left, they went to get everyone lunch. They all ate the food quickly, and the kids were off to play again. Before long, it was Sarah's cell phone that was ringing. She answered it, spoke for a moment, then hung up.  
  
"Well, girls, I better go. That was Emily, and she's ready for me to pick her up from her friend's house." She turned towards the playground and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Sean and Chloe! Come on, it's time to go get Emily!" She was met with groans. The kids came out, put on their shoes, and came over to their mother. They said their good byes, Sarah got Jack in his carrier, and they were off. Cecilia had to get home soon as well, so she got Rachel and Ethan to get their shoes on while she and Ruthie got Natalie and Charlie. After the Camdens were gone, Ruthie and the kids only hung out for a few minutes before she called the triplets in to put on their shoes. She piled Will, Luke, Maddy, and Natalie into the back of her car, and drove home.  
  
A/N: Will everything go all right with Lucy and the baby? Will they have a boy, or a girl? Will Ruthie be able to handle four kids for the evening? Find out in chapter 20, coming soon. 


	20. It's a?

Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven or anything having to do with it (as you know.)  
  
A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Enjoy this chapter!  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 20: It's a ?  
  
When Ruthie pulled into the driveway, she parked, and got the kids out of the back seat. The triplets ran to the door while she got Natalie out of her car seat. When she unlocked the door to their home, Will, Luke, and Maddy stormed in, running around wildly. Ruthie shook her head. She put Natalie down and the little girl began to try to keep up with her cousins. She was unsuccessful, so she dropped onto her hands and knees and crawled after them instead. Ruthie sat her purse down and was immediately tackled by Maddy.  
  
"Where's mommy and daddy?" She asked. When he brothers heard her asking this question, they too jumped against Ruthie's legs, knocking her down.  
  
"Yeah yeah where's daddy?" Asked Luke.  
  
"And mommy! Where's mommy?" Will cried.  
  
"First of all, I want all of you to calm down. Way down. Secondly, your mommy and daddy went to get the baby. He or she is at the hospital."  
  
"Oh!" Maddy screamed excitedly and began to tear around the room again. Her brothers soon followed, and the loud precision was on once again. Ruthie covered her ears. She had no idea that kids could be so loud! For crying out loud, the triplets were only three! Natalie was crawling at lightning speeds after her cousins and they were all screaming.  
  
"Will! Luke! Maddy! Natalie!" She called. They paid her no attention and continued to play wildly. She tried again. "Will! Luke! Maddy! Natalie!" They still didn't listen. Ruthie buried her face in her hands. What was she going to do?  
  
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Lucy Kinkirk held on to her stomach and took a deep breath. These contractions were not being slow. The thing that worried her, is that she knew that they would get worse. Much worse. She took another deep breath and turned to Kevin.  
  
"You're doing just fine." He told her reassuringly. "I know that you can do this." Lucy nodded slowly. She knew that she could do it...she just wasn't sure how. It wasn't long before another contraction was taking over her watermelon-sized stomach. She squinted and held her stomach, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Kevin reached over and held Lucy's arm. He hated to see her in pain. He was remembering the last labor now, more than he had in awhile. They were lucky though this time. Lucy's blood pressure had never reached an unsafe level, and her pregnancy had been pretty normal. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to have a C-Section again. Kevin looked again at his wife. It looked like her contraction was done. Her face was more relaxed. "Can I get you ice chips?" He asked, determined to keep her as comfortable as possible.  
  
"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks Kev." She said, winking at him. Kevin smiled, and left to find the ice machine.  
  
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Ruthie tried once more to get the kids attention, and again, was unsuccessful. Finally, she had reached the last straw. She ran opposite of the kids trail, and they soon ran straight into her legs. Once they stopped their wild rampage in order to change course, the yelled for their attention, and got it.  
  
"Sit down." She said sternly. The kids did as they were told. "Will, Luke, Maddy, and Natalie, I'm very disappointed in you. I told you all to calm down, and you ignored me!" All the kids shifted their eyes to the ground. "Now, each of you are going to have to pay the consequences. Time out." She said. The all groaned. She positioned the triplets in opposite corners around the room, then picked up her daughter and carried her into her bedroom. She put her in her crib, and she immediately began to cry.  
  
"No, mama, no, no, no crib!" She sobbed. Ruthie put her hands on her hips.  
  
"Yes crib. This is your time out. You have to stay in here for 5 minutes." She explained.  
  
"No!" Natalie cried. "I sorry! I sorry!"  
  
"Well I'm glad that you're sorry, but you still have to be in time out. I'll be back in 5 minutes." She kissed her little girl on the head and left the room, shutting the door behind her. She could hear Natalie crying all the way down the hall, but after a minute, she stopped. Ruthie sighed deeply. Finally: silence. Well, for the next 5 minutes, anyway...  
  
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Lucy was a few hours into labor now, and her contractions were getting more and more intense. She took a deep breath as she felt one coming on. Kevin, seeing his que, reached forward and massaged her temples. He was doing all that he could to make her feel better, but it seemed that nothing was working. He was just looking forward to Lucy getting to the point that she could have an epideural. At least then she'd be out of the pain for awhile. Lucy's face relaxed again, and her hand dropped from her stomach, a sign that the contraction was coming to an end. She turned to Kevin with a sad smile.  
  
"Is this almost over?" She asked.  
  
"You've only been in labor for 2 and a half hours, Luce. It'll probably be awhile." He told her. She sighed deeply.  
  
"Great." She said. "Great."  
  
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After five minutes, Ruthie took Natalie out of her crib. She ran to play with the triplets at first, but Ruthie stopped her, reminding her that her cousins were still in time out for five more minutes. She had decided that because Natalie was only one, she would not have as long of a time out as the three-year-olds. Natalie nodded her head and crawled over to the kitchen table.  
  
"Cuppy." She demanded trying to climb up into her high chair. Ruthie lifted her the rest of the way up, buckled her in, and put her tray in.  
  
"What's the magic word?" She asked. Natalie broke into a smile.  
  
"Cuppy pease." She said. Ruthie laughed. She filled Natalie's sippy cup with orange juice and gave it to her.  
  
"Tank you." She said, and immediately began sipping. Ruthie went to go get the triplets out of time out, then came back into the kitchen and got Natalie. When she picked her up, she smelled something all too familiar.  
  
"Oh, Miss Natalie! It's time for a diaper change." She said.  
  
"No, no!" Natalie objected.  
  
"Oh, definitely yes. Come on." She carried the baby into her bedroom, leaving the door open so she could keep an eye on Will, Luke, and Maddy. She laid Natalie down on her changing table, and changed her dirt diaper. After she was finished she sprayed some neutralizer around to get rid of the smell. She put Natalie back down on the ground with a smile. "All clean!" She said. Natalie giggled and crawled out to play with her cousins. Ruthie threw away the diaper and went into the family room where all the kids were playing. She put on Natalie's favorite Barney video. All the kids ran to get a seat in front of the tv.  
  
"Bankie!" Natalie cried. She got up and toddled into her room. She came out a minute later with her favorite soft pink blanket. She sat it down by the TV and rushed to her room again, coming back with her pillow. She left once more to get her doll. Once she had everything, she laid down with her doll, put her head on the pillow, and had Ruthie cover her up. Ruthie got a big blanket for the triplets to share, and got them each a pillow. By the time the hour video was over, all four children were fast asleep.  
  
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"OW!" Lucy said with tears in her eyes. Her epideural had helped for awhile, but now that she was getting close to delivering, she could feel all the pressure. "Kev, get the nurse!" She said with her eyes widening. "Hurry." Kevin hit the nurse button, and the nurse came in one minute later. She rushed over to Lucy and checked her.  
  
"OK, it's time." She said. "We've called the doctor, he should be here any minute." Kevin nodded. Lucy grabbed her stomach.  
  
"Hurry! This baby is coming out, and it's not waiting for the doctor!" She cried. The nurse came over to her.  
  
"It's OK, Mrs. Kinkirk. You've gotta wait just a minute."  
  
"I do my best." Lucy said. It was getting harder and harder to wait. Finally, the doctor rushed into the room and put on his mask.  
  
"Ok, Lucy!" He explained to her what she was going to do, and after she was instructed to do so, she started pushing.  
  
The next few minutes were a blur for Lucy and Kevin. Finally, the doctor spoke.  
  
"Ok! The baby's out!" He cried. "And...It's a..." the breath caught in Kevin and Lucy's throat as they awaited their fate. "It's a girl!" He showed the baby to Lucy quickly before passing her off to the nurse. Lucy smiled widely when they heard her crying for the first time. Kevin kissed Lucy quickly before the nurse brought over the minute old little baby girl.  
  
"6 pounds 4 ounces." She informed them, handing Lucy her new daughter. "What's her name?" Lucy and Kevin looked at one another.  
  
"Olivia Kathryn." Lucy told her.  
  
"And she'll go by Liv." Kevin added. The nurse smiled at them.  
  
"Well congratulations." She said. They thanked her and looked at their new baby, who had been passed to Kevin.  
  
"Hi Liv." He said happily.  
  
"So now we have four kids." Lucy said. "Will, Luke, Maddy, and Liv."  
  
"Yep. And I love it already." Kevin said. Lucy nodded.  
  
"Me too."  
  
A/N: I love her name! LoL. Review please! 


	21. News

Disclaimer: I don't own anything having to do with 7th Heaven or the WB!  
  
A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm happy to announce that two records have officially been set. The first is that this is the most reviews any of my stories have ever received, currently at 130! Secondly, this is my longest story yet, at 21 chapters so far! Continue to enjoy!  
  
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Still Going Strong  
  
Chapter 21: News  
  
The next two months were crazily busy. The family finally got to celebrate Sam and David's 20th February birthday in June. Annie and Eric went all out. They had all of their twin sons favorite foods, including tons of pizza, sweets, and much more. Emily was still very excited to have turned 12 recently, despite her no-birthday party punishment. Ethan celebrated his 5th birthday as well. The kids all got out of school for the summer. Emily was officially a middle school student in 7th grade, Sean was a 2nd grader, Rachel was a 3rd grader, Ethan a 1st grader, and Sam and David Sophomores in college.  
  
One day in late June, David called Annie, saying that he had an announcement to make, and that he wanted the entire family to be at Annie and Eric's for dinner so he could tell them all. Annie agreed. She called Sarah, Matt, Mary, Carlos, Lucy, Kevin, Simon, Cecilia, Peter, Ruthie, and Sam, and they all said that they could be there. Annie spent the rest of the day cooking a salmon for the dinner that night, buying rolls, veggies, champagne, juice for the kids, and much more.  
  
At 7 o'clock that night, everyone began to arrive. Peter and Ruthie arrived first with Natalie. They were closely followed by Mary and Carlos. Simon, Cecilia, Rachel, Ethan, and Charlie came soon. Sam arrived next. Everyone was socializing and digging into the snacks by the time Sarah, Matt, Emily, Sean, Chloe, and Jack came. David and his girlfriend Marie were the next to come through the door. Understandably, Lucy, Kevin, Will, Luke, Maddy, and Liv were the last to arrive. Lucy and Kevin looked exhausted, still adjusting to life with 3-year-old triplets and a 2-month- old baby.  
  
Everyone looked wonderful. They were all dressed up a bit. The kids looked adorable. The house was full, with 15 adults and 12 children. A kid table was set up for Emily, Sean, Chloe, Will, Luke, Maddy, Rachel, Ethan, Charlie, and Natalie, with high chairs for Chloe, Will, Luke, Maddy, Charlie, and Natalie. The adults took a seat at the other table. Jack was sitting next to Sarah in his walker. His dinner, a cut up hot dog, was on the tray, and he was eating happily. Liv was in her carrier, sound asleep. Lucy had fed her before they had come. Annie brought out all the delicious food and everyone began to eat. When they were all finished, every one's attention shifted to David. He laughed and tapped the side of his glass with his fork, getting everyone's attention.  
  
"Hey everyone." He began. "Thanks for coming. I know that it was really short notice for all of you, and I'm really glad that everyone could make it." He shifted nervously. "So, I'm sure you're all wondering why you've been called here! Well, I have an announcement to make. Well, we do." He took Marie's hand and she smiled at him. "You all know my girlfriend Marie. Well, the thing that I'm trying to tell you is that..." He took a deep breath and squeezed Marie's hand. "Marie and I are getting married." He said.  
  
"Congratulations!" Cried Sarah and Cecilia.  
  
"Oh, David, that's great!" Said Lucy. Other congratulations were passed around the table. The only ones who weren't saying things were Annie and Eric. When the room quieted down, they spoke up.  
  
"You're...getting married." Eric said. David and Marie nodded. "And when were you planning on doing this?" He asked.  
  
"Well..." Marie began. "We were thinking mid September." She said. David nodded.  
  
"3 months." Annie said. "But...you guys are so young! You're only freshmen..."  
  
"Sophomores!" The corrected with smiles.  
  
"Yeah...sophomores...in college. You're both only 20 years old. That's really young. I mean, David..." Sarah and Matt stood up.  
  
"This is a private thing...we'll let you discus it alone," Sarah said. Matt nodded. The rest of the crowd agreed. They all said good bye to one another, and offered their congratulations once more to David and Marie. Once everyone had cleared out, including the objecting Sam, it was just Annie, Eric, David, and Marie. They continued their conversation.  
  
"We know that we're really young." Said David, "But we're in love. This is what we want. I mean, we've been dating for almost 4 years. It's about time we get married!"  
  
"Yes, but you're still in school! That makes it so much harder." Eric said.  
  
"Yeah, but Sarah and Matt were still in school when they got married, and so were Lucy and Kevin!" David retorted.  
  
"David, Marie, if you get married, now, you won't even be able to have a glass of champagne at your wedding! You're not even 21. I just really think that you need to re-think this..."  
  
"Mom, listen. We came to tell all of you, and we were expecting you to be excited, like everyone else! I'm happier than I ever am when I'm with Marie. We're getting married! There's no turning back." He said. Marie smiled at him and nodded her head. Eric sighed.  
  
"Well, I know how much you guys are in love, and in all honesty, this is your choice. You're both adults, and I know that you make good decisions. I trust you guys to know if this is the right time."  
  
"Yes, me too." Annie said finally.  
  
"Thank you." David and Marie said together.  
  
"Dad, we were hoping that you would marry us in the church." David said. "It would mean so much to us."  
  
"Of course I'll marry you." Eric said with a smile. "You're my son, and my future daughter-in-law. I'd be honored." David and Marie thanked him. After they finished talking a bit more, David and Marie left, knowing that they had an early morning ahead of them. They were flying to Boston where Marie's parents lived to tell them the news as well.  
  
After they were gone, Annie and Eric straightened up the house and went to bed. Eric shut off the lights. They fell asleep quickly after having such a busy day, and neither could believe that soon, 6 of their 7 children would be married.  
  
A/N: Review please! 


	22. 365 Days

Disclaimer: Yeah yeah yeah, y'all are smart, you know the drill.  
  
A/N: Hey guys. Thanks for all of the reviews! I love getting them...they are awesome. Ok, I have to ask: Should I A) continue this story B) end with epilogue or C) end and make this a trilogy (write a 3rd story in this set) If I go with C, they can all be older so we can have different things going on in their lives, or I can keep it just how it is (A/B) Please let me know in your review, or e-mail me: camdengirlfanfic@aol.com, subject line: Story vote. Thanks.  
  
OH! One more announcement to make: It has officially been a year in this story!! Chapter one was in July on the Triplet's birthday, and it is already July again (not to mention July 8th, the triplet's birthday) yyaayy! : - )  
  
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Still Going Strong Chapter 22: 365 Days  
  
~ One month has passed... ~  
  
"Happy Birthday To You! Happy Birthday To You! Happy Birthday Dear Will Luke and Maddy! Happy Birthday To You!" Everyone cheered as the triplets blew out their candles: 4 each. Kevin snapped a picture of his kids while Lucy held their sleeping 3-month-old daughter. Liv didn't seem to excited about her older siblings' birthday. This year, their birthday party was being held at Will Luke and Maddy's very favorite place in the entire world: the park. The kids all scattered from the table onto the playground. The whole family was there. Annie and Eric where there. Sarah and Matt had come with all four kids, Mary and Carlos were also there, along with Simon, Cecilia, and the kids, Peter, Ruthie, and Natalie, and even David and Marie were there. Sam was the only one who couldn't make it, and for that he felt bad. He sent 3 presents along with his twin brother.  
  
This year, the triplets had demanded that each have their own cake, frosted in their favorite colors. Kevin began to cut Maddy's cake, while Carlos cut Will's, and Matt cut Luke's. Sarah and Lucy were chatting, each with their baby in their lap. 7-month-old Jack, unlike Liv, was not asleep. He was fighting to go and play with the bigger kids, but Sarah held him there, knowing that he could not yet even walk. She reached into his stroller and got out his walker, placing him in it. He pushed his feet on the grass to get it to move, and went to the edge of the concrete so watch his siblings and cousins play in the sand. Liv stirred in Lucy's arms and opened her green eyes to look around. After a few minutes, she began to cry.  
  
"Uh oh." Lucy said. "Looks like someone's hungry for some lunch." She sniffed the air and cringed. "Not to mention needs a new diaper!" She and Sarah laughed. She reached over and grabbed the little portable-changing table [A/N: they are just like 5 inches off the ground-portable baby changing- for those of you who don't know. I didn't before I used one!] , a diaper, and some wipes. She put the changing table to the side of the blanket that she and Sarah were sitting on, and put Liv on it. The baby began to cry as soon as she was laid down. She had never liked to be changed. It only took a few minutes for Lucy to get a fresh diaper on her daughter. She then grabbed a baby blanket and stood up. "I'm going to go and feed her." She told Sarah. Sarah nodded.  
  
"I'll be here." She said with a smile. Lucy walked off towards the bathroom. Chloe ran over to her mother a few minutes later. She was covered in sweat from head to toe. Sarah laughed. "Hey you. I can see you've been playing!" Chloe nodded with a big smile.  
  
"Mommy!" She began, "Me and Rachel and Maddy was playing and we went WAY up high on the green slide and then we went down and it was really really fast so it was SO fun so we went up again and we went down again and we went up again and went down again and it's the BEST slide ever and..." she gasped for air after saying all that in one sentence. "and THEN we ran to the swings and Rachel pushed me and Maddy so we was going REALLY high and then she jumped in the last swing but she was too big for it cause she is old and 7 year olds cant sit in the littler swings and she said ow and jumped out it was so funny." She gasped again for breath, then smiled at her mother. "It was fun." Sarah laughed.  
  
"How...nice." She said. Chloe nodded happily, and then took off towards the playground once again. Lucy came back again after awhile. She sat down and laid Liv in her lap. The baby looked up at her mother for a moment before reaching for her stuffy. Lucy smiled and handed it to her. She grabbed it and wrapped her arms around its neck, sucking on its ear. Sarah laughed at the sight.  
  
"Emily did the same thing to her blanket, and so did Chloe, but neither of my boys did." She said. "I think it's so funny. Gross after they're done, but funny." They laughed and Lucy nodded in agreement.  
  
"Mommy present time!" Luke and Will chorused to Lucy before taking off to sit with their sister in the "birthday chairs" Lucy and Sarah went over to join the growing crowd around them. After everyone was there, they began to open their presents.  
  
They finally finished after 45 minutes. Everyone began to leave, as the party was over. Mary and Carlos left first, followed by Simon, Cecilia and the kids, Peter, Ruthie, and Natalie, then Sarah, Matt and the kids. When it was only the Kinkirks, David, and Marie, the young couple came over to say good bye. Marie went over to the triplets with a smile.  
  
"Well, Happy Birthday to my future nephews and niece!" She said, kissing them each on the head.  
  
"What does that mean?" Maddy asked, looking confused. The boys nodded. Marie laughed and smiled at them.  
  
"Well, after your Uncle David and I get married, I'm going to be your aunt." She said.  
  
"Ohhh." They all said in unison. She laughed again.  
  
"You're so cute!" She said with a smile, and went back to join David. She said good bye to Lucy and Kevin as David said good bye to the triplets. After they were done, they left. Lucy and Kevin finished putting the remaining gifts into the car, then they got the Triplets and Liv into the car and drove home.  
  
A/N: Review please!! 


	23. Acting Suspicious

Disclaimer: Must I say? By chapter 23, I think you know. Hehe. I don't own Pizza Hut or Coca-cola! A/N: Thank you tons and tons for all of the reviews! You guys are making this story so fun to write. No wonder I end up posting a chapter like every day. Haha. Due to an over whelming amount of votes, I'll be doing a trilogy! I'll wrap this story up, and then get going on that. Enjoy and review. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Still Going Strong Chapter 23: Acting Suspicious  
  
Mary Ponce finished her day at Jennings Elementary School, where she worked, and drove home. Today had seemed to take forever. She had been running errands for all the other teachers in the office, and had barely had any time to herself. When she pulled into her driveway, she was pleased to see Carlos' car parked there. She went inside to find her husband on the sofa, watching the news. He smiled when he saw her, and stood up. He walked over to her and gave her a hug. She seemed to collapse into his arms.  
  
"Bad day?" He asked his wife with concern. Mary looked up at him.  
  
"Not bad...just busy. I'm exhausted." She said with a yawn. Carlos kissed her on the cheek with a smile.  
  
"Go and lie down for awhile. I'll fix dinner." He said. "You look like you need some time to veg." They laughed. Mary smiled at him.  
  
"Thanks, sweetie." She said. She began to walk down the hall to their bedroom when Carlos called her.  
  
"Oh, Mare!" He said. She turned back around. "I almost forgot...Ruthie came by a little earlier. She said you asked for this..." He held out a grocery store bag that had been stapled shut multiple times. Ruthie had drawn a smiley face on the out side. Mary ran forward with a sudden burst of energy and snatched it out of his hands. Carlos laughed. "Whoa whoa, Miss "I'm so exhausted!" Mary playfully hit her husband with a laugh. "I was instructed not to open it...obviously. Is there anything I should know about?"  
  
"No...it's just..." She quickly thought of an excuse. "It's...it's a girl thing." She said with a wink. Carlos laughed.  
  
"Oh" He said. "OK. Don't wanna know." Mary shook her head.  
  
"No...you don't." She walked over to the microwave and set a 5-minute timer. "Hey Carlos, when I call out in a minute, you hit start on the microwave so the timer starts?"  
  
"Sure...I guess." Carlos said, looking confused. Mary kissed him and walked down the hall again.  
  
"Thanks!" She called, and shut their bedroom door behind her. Carlos shook his head and looked back at the television set once again. A few minutes later, Mary called for Carlos to start the timer, so he did so. He looked around the kitchen.  
  
"Hmm...what to make?" He walked over to the pantry and opened the door. He switched on the light and began to look around. "Spaghetti? Nah, too much work. Oh, Mac and Cheese is sounding good...no, that's too easy." He looked around more, scratching his head. Finally, he smiled and walked over to the phone. He picked it up and dialed the number he knew by heart. After a few rings, they picked up. "Hello...Pizza Hut?"  
  
After placing his order: half cheese, for Mary, and half sausage for himself, he sat back down. The microwave beeped loudly, indicating that whatever Mary had the time set for, her time was up. He cupped his hands around his mouth.  
  
"Mare, your timer..." He began.  
  
"I know I know thanks!" She called back sounding stressed.  
  
"No prob. Honey, are you OK?" He called.  
  
"Yes, fine. I'm perfectly fine." She yelled unconvincingly. Carlos shook his head. He was going to find out what was up with his wife, yes that was for sure, but right now, he had to watch the news.  
  
A half hour later, the pizza was delivered. Carlos paid the delivery person and sat the pizza out on the table. He put 2 pieces of cheese on a plate for Mary, and 2 pieces of sausage on a plate for himself. He then filled 2 classes with coca-cola. After setting them on the table and lighting a candle in the middle of the table (after all, he had to make it romantic some how, even if he had only ordered their food), he called Mary. She came out of their room, dressed in her pajamas. She walked straight to the table, sat down, and took a huge bite out of her pizza, never acknowledging her husband, or even the candle in the middle of the table. Carlos slowly walked over and took his seat across from Mary. By the time he sat down, she was already shoving the last piece of crust into her mouth and starting on her next piece. Carlos laughed and took a bite of his own pizza.  
  
"You're...hungry I see." He said, eyeing his wife carefully. She nodded before taking another giant bite. "Mare, what's going on?" He asked. "I know something's up. Spill!"  
  
"No, I'm eating. No talking when eating." She said through the crust of her pizza. She grabbed two more slices and dug in again. After devoring her entire half of the pizza, and 2 pieces of Carlos' half, she finally stopped and leaned back. "That was good. Oh...look a candle. How cute!" Carlos but his hand on his forehead and sighed with a small smile.  
  
"Now she notices the candle..." He said aloud, getting a laugh from Mary as well. She took a sip of her coke. Quickly, she slammed the cup down and looked at Carlos. "Yes?" He asked.  
  
"Carlos...we...we have to talk." She said. Carlos sat down his pizza, giving his wife his full attention.  
  
"Ok, good. What's going on?" He asked. She took a deep breath. Suddenly, she began to cry. Carlos got up and came around to his wife. He turned her towards him and wrapped his arms around her. She put her face on his shoulder for a minute until she stopped crying. Finally, she looked up at him.  
  
"I'm..." She took a deep breath and took his hand in hers. "I'm pregnant."  
  
A/N: Review please!  
  
**** beta'd by: AlyssaFarrell: May she always aller the karate in my petite chien.(chien...chou...chien...chou........) 


	24. Moving Forward The End

Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven, or anything with the WB!  
  
A/N: Thanks for the reviews! This will be the last chapter of Still Going Strong...the third story in this series should be up within a few days. Because this is the last chapter, it will be a bit longer than the other chapter. Enjoy and review!  
  
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Still Going Strong  
  
Chapter 24: Moving Forward  
  
"I'm..." She took a deep breath and took his hand in hers. "I'm pregnant." Carlos drew his breath in sharply and put his head down for a moment. After awhile, he put his face back up. Mary was staring at him, waiting to find out what he thought. Carlos again put his head down, putting his forehead in his hands.  
  
"Mare..." He said. He shook his head and looked back up. "Mary...I thought we weren't having kids yet. We've talked about this...we weren't going to have kids for a few more years. Oh Mary, are you sure?" Mary tried to keep herself from crying.  
  
"Yeah...I know." She said. "But Carlos" she couldn't take it any longer and burst into tears. Carlos put his hand on her shoulder. She looked back up. "No, I'm not positive...but I took a test...two actually. And they were both positive. Of course I'm not 100% sure, but..." She shrugged. "And Ok, it happened. We can't do anything about it! So why can't we just accept it...move forward?"  
  
"You're right." Carlos said, taking Mary's hands in his. "You're totally right. I love you. This isn't just a coincidence. This is when we were meant to have a child. We can do this."  
  
"And if I'm not..." She trailed off.  
  
"If you're not, then we'll go on how we're living, or maybe we'll decide to start a family after all. I don't know what's going to happen. Right now, we just need to find out if you're pregnant or not. I'm calling Matt right now. He's probably still at work, and we can get an appointment with him." He walked over to the phone and picked it up. Mary jumped up and grabbed the phone from him, slamming it back down on the receiver. "What are you...?" Carlos asked.  
  
"There's no way I'm having my older brother as my doctor...no. No, no, and no. Absolutely not!" She cried.  
  
"Ok! Ok!" Carlos laughed. "I'll call the main office, and get an appointment for you then."  
  
"NOT with Dr. Matt Camden." She said. Carlos laughed and nodded.  
  
"Not with Dr. Matt Camden." He confirmed. With a smile, he picked up the phone again, and dialed. After talking for a few minutes on the phone, he said goodbye and hung up.  
  
"Well?" Mary asked.  
  
"You have an appointment tomorrow morning at 11, NOT with Dr. Matt Camden, but with Dr. Anne Michaels."  
  
"Dr. Michaels? Yes! She was Cecilia's doctor with Charlie. She said she was great!" She and Carlos hugged tightly. Carlos leaned back a little and kissed his wife.  
  
"I'm glad." He said. "Now, it's bed time. We're going to have a busy day tomorrow."  
  
"Yeah..." She said, trailing off. "Tomorrow." She smiled nervously at Carlos, and he returned the smile. He took her hand in his and led her down the hall. After tucking her in, Carlos came back out into the living room and sat down on the couch. He put his head in his hands again.  
  
"What are we going to do?" He whispered to himself. "This apartment is barely big enough for two of us...we can't have a baby." He shook his head. "No...we can make it work, I know we can." He tried to reassure himself. "Who am I kidding? We live in a tiny apartment." He sighed. "I guess I can't worry...at least not until 11 tomorrow." He was overcome with a wave of fatigue and stretched out across the entire sofa. He shut his eyes. Why not? He wouldn't go to sleep...after resting his eyes for a few minutes; he'd go to bed in he and Mary's room...  
  
~~ The Next Morning ~~  
  
Mary awoke at 6:30 AM to her alarm. She moaned. Another day at work...she reached over to wake her husband.  
  
"Carlos. Wake up we have to go to...Carlos?" She opened her eyes and looked over, seeing her husband's side of the bed untouched. "Carlos?" She stood up and walked out into the hall. "Carlos?" She called. She laughed when she saw her husband, sound asleep on the couch. Suddenly she gasped. "Oh..." she put her hand over her stomach, suddenly remembering last night. She wasn't going to go to work...she was going to go and find out what life had in store for her...starting at 11 o'clock today. She walked over to Carlos and shook him gently. He stirred and looked up at her. Suddenly he gasped and jumped up.  
  
"Oh Mare I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep out here! I'm so sorry." He spun around to look at the clock, but because he didn't have his contacts in, he couldn't see it. "What time is it? Am I late for work? Are YOU late for work?" Mary shook her head.  
  
"Carlos..." She paused. "I'm not going to work...remember?" He looked at her confused for a moment, then collapsed back down onto the sofa.  
  
"Oh...yeah..." He sighed. "Then I'm not going either. I want to be at your appointment with you. Let me go call in." Mary nodded her head. After Carlos did so, Mary called into Jennings to let them know that she wouldn't be there either. After they both finished, Carlos fixed breakfast for both of them. Mary didn't want anything, but Carlos insisted that she at least have a piece of toast and juice. She finally agreed and they ate. They got dressed and Mary got her make up on. Before long, it was 10:30, and they needed to leave.  
  
The drove in silence to the hospital. When they got there, they held hands and walked in. After signing in and sitting in the waiting room for 10 minutes, the door opened and Matt came out. He came over and sat down next to them with a smile.  
  
"Hey you two. I just wanted to tell you good luck." He said, knowing from Carlos' call the night before why they were there. They smiled and thanked him. "I have an 11 o'clock that I should go and prepare for, but I wanted to make sure I came out. See ya later on...good luck." He said, standing up and walking to the door leading back to the offices. As he opened the door, a nurse came out. He edged past her as she looked down at her clipboard.  
  
"Mary Ponce?" She called. Mary gasped sharply. Carlos squeezed her hand and stood up with her. They walked to the nurse.  
  
"I'm...I'm Mary." She said. "And this is my husband, Carlos." The nurse smiled and nodded at her, leading them back through the door. She directed them into a small doctor's office and motioned for Mary to sit on the bed and Carlos in the chair across from her.  
  
"OK, Mrs. Ponce. So what are we seeing you for today?" The nurse asked.  
  
"Well..." Mary looked at Carlos for support. He gave her a weak smile and a nod, prompting her to talk. "Yesterday, I took a pregnancy test...well, I actually took two, and they were positive, and so we want to know if I really am pregnant..." The nurse nodded and scribbled down notes on her note pad.  
  
"OK." She said. After asking her a few more questions, the nurse stood. "Dr. Michaels will be with you in just a minute." She said, standing and leaving. A few minutes later, a tall, slender woman entered the room. She had her straight, highlight-streaked brunette hair pulled up into a ponytail. She smiled at the couple.  
  
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Ponce. I'm Dr. Anne Michaels. It's nice to meet you." She said, reaching out to shake each of their hands. "I see here that you want a pregnancy test. Well, you've come to the right place. We're going to do two tests, a urine sample, and a blood test." She explained. Mary nodded. The doctor sent Mary to the rest room while she got the blood test materials prepared. When Mary came back, she took some blood. "Well, I'll go get these in the lab...your results should be in in about 20 to 25 minutes. I'll be back as soon as we know." She said with a smile, and left the room with the samples. Mary turned to Carlos and sighed.  
  
"Well...this'll be the longest 20 minutes of our lives, huh?" She asked. Carlos laughed and nodded. He came over and sat next to her, taking her hand in his.  
  
"It'll be OK...no matter what the results are, we can do it. I know we can." He said reassuringly. Mary smiled and nodded.  
  
"Well, if I am...ya know...then at least I'll get to have Dr. Michaels as my doctor. Cecilia was right, she's really, really nice." Carlos nodded.  
  
"Yeah, she seems great." He said. Mary sighed and laid back on the small bed.  
  
"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to take a little nap." She said with a smile. "I have 20 minutes, and nothing to do but be nervous."  
  
"OK." Carlos told her. "I'll wake you when Dr. Michaels is back. Have a good nap." He stood and kissed her forehead. Mary was asleep within minutes. Before she knew it, she felt Carlos' hand on her arm and heard his voice.  
  
"Sweetie, wake up. The doctor is here." He said. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around looking confused. Suddenly she realized where she was and sat up, looking towards the door where the doctor was standing, clipboard in hand. Mary smoothed her hair quickly as the doctor walked over to them and sat down at her desk.  
  
"Well, your tests results are in." She informed them. "I see that you found a good way to pass the time, Mrs. Ponce." Mary laughed.  
  
"Please, call me Mary." She said.  
  
"OK then, Mary, Carlos, you're going to have a baby." She said with a smile. "Congratulations, you're indeed pregnant. Now, from what we could tell, we believe that you're about two months pregnant, meaning that you're due in 7 months, somewhere in mid to late January. I'd like to make an appointment for you to come in for an ultrasound, so that we can get you a more exact due date. I found out the soonest appointments we have for ultrasounds, so I have them here. There's a 1 o'clock tomorrow, or a 9:30 AM 8 days from now. Other than that, we're really booked. I'm sorry if that is an inconvenience." She said. Mary sighed.  
  
"Ok...well, I guess I'll take the 1 o'clock tomorrow then...unfortunately I'll have to miss the last part of work again...but I'd have to miss all day if I took the one next week, plus I'd have to wait a long time. Better to get it over with now. My family's going to want concrete information." She said with a nervous laugh.  
  
"I'll stay home too." Carlos told her.  
  
"Oh no you won't." She told him. "You're a fire fighter. They need you. You're not missing another day." He began to object, but Mary stopped him. "No. You're going."  
  
"OK, fine." He said with a laugh. "I get full details when I get home though. I'll try to get off early. Maybe by 3 even." Mary nodded.  
  
"Oh! Dr. Michaels, I'm sorry." She said, realizing that they had gone off into their own little world, ignoring the doctor, who was currently the most important person in the room. She smiled.  
  
"No problem." She said. "OK, I'll get you in for the 1 o'clock. I don't want you to have to worry about making the appointment. I know you both have a lot on your mind right now."  
  
"Thanks...you can say that again." Carlos said. Mary nodded in agreement. There was a knock at the door. Dr. Michaels stood and walked to it, she opened it a crack to see who was there. She then turned back to the Ponces.  
  
"Hold on please...another doctor needs a word. I'm sorry, it'll only take a second." She said apologetically.  
  
"It's no problem. Take your time, really." Mary told her with a smile. Dr. Michaels returned the look and exited the room. She came back in a moment later looking confused.  
  
"Mary, a colleague of mine wants to come in and have a word with you...I'm terribly sorry. He said that it's important, and that you wouldn't mind." Mary looked just as confused as the doctor did.  
  
"OK...which doctor is this?" She asked.  
  
"Dr. Matt Camden. He's also an OB/GYN here." She said. Mary laughed.  
  
"Oh! Matt. OK, yes definitely let him in. He's my older brother." She said.  
  
"Oh!" They all laughed and Dr. Michaels opened the door. Matt rushed in and over to his younger sister.  
  
"So?" He asked. Mary looked up at him. "Are you or are you not? My appointment is done and I have 30 minutes before my next, and I just couldn't wait to find out. I'm sorry to interrupt."  
  
"It's OK!" Mary said. She looked nervously at Carlos before ending Matt's suspense. "Yes, Matt...I'm pregnant."  
  
"Congratulations!" Matt cried, hugging them both. "I'm so happy for you. Are you thrilled?" He asked, remembering when Sarah had found out she was pregnant with their first child, Emily. Mary shifted uncomfortably and turned away. Matt looked at Carlos, confused.  
  
"We weren't..." He tried to think of what to say. "We weren't planning on having a baby for a few more years. This is all a surprise." He said, shrugging. Matt's face changed and he turned back to Mary, wrapping his arms protectively around his baby sister.  
  
"Mary, it'll all be OK. God doesn't let things happen that you can't handle, or that he doesn't want us to have in our lives." Mary nodded, but despite herself, a tear trickled down her cheek.  
  
"I know." She said quietly. "It'll just take some adjusting. A lot of adjusting." She said with a sigh. "We can do it." Matt smiled at her and hugged her and Carlos once more before he had to leave. Dr. Michaels came back over to them.  
  
"I had know idea that you guys weren't planning this. But, from what I can tell, you two seem like you're going to make great parents. I know you'll be fine." They smiled and thanked her. It was time to leave, so they got their things, and left the office, thanking the doctor once again for her help and support. With that, they drove home, thinking all the way of what was to come in the days ahead.  
  
THE END!  
  
A/N: There will be no epilogue, because I'm making this a trilogy. Look for the next story soon. My e-mail group will be receiving the 1st chapter a day in advance. If you don't know what my e-mail group is, please look on the last chapter of Still Going Strong where it is explained. The next story will be (like in the last line of the story) called "The Days Ahead". Look for it soon! Thanks for reading, and please, please review! 


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